


Magic Musicians

by Catelincat



Series: Magic, Music, explposions [1]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Abuse of harry, Draco plays it anyway, Draco's parents don't approve of the piano, Durslys are awful people, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Harry plays the violin, Lots of explosions, M/M, Marvin is depressed, Marvin-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Michael is an engineer!, Mrs. Figg's hugs at the best!, Mrs.Figgs is nice, Neville blows stuff up, Pansy Blaise and Hermione, Ravenclaw!Draco, Ravenclaw!Harry, Ravenclaw!Marvin, Ron is a dooshe, Seamus blows stuff up, Snape is sweet, Spontaneous Combustion Trio, The Seriously Sly (And Smart!) Trio, They basically start a music group, mabye some implosions, mentioning of characters from other fandoms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-08 19:35:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10394523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catelincat/pseuds/Catelincat
Summary: Harry gets taught the violin and Draco gets taught the piano.Mrs. Fight teaches Harry the violin and about the magic society of wizards. Harry goes to Hogwarts and pretty much a basic and rewrite of the books ensues.





	1. Harry

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting.  
> Ahhhhh. So nervous. It's also unbeta'd and unedited.  
> So sorry in advance for any mistakes and the like.  
> I also don't play the violin so sorry about any inaccuracies.  
> Well; I hope you enjoy and I will be adding new chapters soon!

The First time Harry saw a violin was when he was seven, on a particularly cold September day, and as usual he was being chased by his cousin Dudley. Turning a corner ahead of his huffing cousin, Harry ducked into a bush and waited for Dudly to pass by. The thundering sound of Dudley's footsteps came closer. Harry held his breath. Dudley ran right pass the bush and down the next lane over.

Letting out a relived sigh, Harry collapsed. He was exhausted from running from and avoiding the Durslys all day.

"Hello?" A frail voice from behind him said.

Turning around he recognized Mrs. Figgs, the lady who babysat him on his birthday. She was a frail looking old lady who seemed to enjoy wearing all the old clothes she owned.

Backing away he stammered" I..I'm sorry. I'll go now." His ankle caught on a root, causing him to fall over.

"Please don't tell my aunt." He pleaded, his big green eyes filling with tears.

Mrs. Figgs, frail as she looked, scooped Harry up in her arms.

" Oh, don't cry." She said kindly, carrying him through her garden and into her living room. " I'll see what I can do to appease your aunt, but in the meanwhile, how about a nice cup of tea? Hmm?" She said gently placing him down on the faded and worn love seat.

If she was at all shocked or surprised by how light and malnourished he was, she didn't show it.

Sniffling, Harry watched as Mrs. Figgs bustled about the adjoining kitchen, putting the kettle on, collecting the mugs and tea leaves from the cupboard. Resigned to his fate, Harry looked about him apprehensively, expecting the Durslys to barge in any moment and drag him back to the cupboard under the stairs.

The room was cluttered, with every available surface covered in papers, knick-knacks, and cats.

"Aunt Petunia would have a fit if she saw this." Harry thought to himself.

He found all the clutter comforting and the roaring fire in the hearth was quite cozy. Deciding that he was already in a lot of trouble, he scooted off the love seat and cautiously made his way to the fire place.

Once there, Harry noticed a case buried under a mountain of papers and a bright orange tabby. Curious, Harry reached out to touch it.

"It's a violin." Mrs. Figgs said from behind him softly. Harry jumped, although not as high as before. Harry looked up at her guiltily.

"I'm sorry." He said, closing his eyes as if expecting a blow.

"Whatever for?" Mrs. Figgs asked, then without waiting for an answer, moved over to the case " I called your aunt and explained that I asked you to help me feed my cats and not to expect you until around six o'clock." She said as she removed from the instrument from its case.

The violin resembled the ukulele that Dudley had gotten for his birthday. But this instrument was far more beautiful than that monstrosity was. It was made of a dark wood and had elegant curves. It shined  in the firelight and made Harry smile although he wasn't sure why.

Seeing his smile, Mrs. Figgs held it out to him saying," Why don't you give it a go?" Harry looked at her with uncertainty evident in his face.

Something about the way he was looking at her made the lady's heart break. He was a broken child, cast out and abused by the ones who should be holding him dear. She knew all too well those feelings of loneliness. 

Smiling at him softly, she placed the violin in his hands and gently showed him how to cradle it against his shoulder. Then, once she was sure he could position the violin properly by himself, she handed him the bow.

"This is called a bow." she said,"Gently drag the side with the strings against the violin's strings and position your fingers like so."

Positioning his fingers to play a C chord, she gently encouraged him to move the bow. Smiling, Harry dragged the bow across the strings and for a moment managed to hit the C chord, only to end with a screech. The grin slid off Harry's face and looked up at Mrs. Figgs anxiously.

"I'm sorry." He said, looking as if he was expecting to be berated for the noise.

Mrs. Figgs cursed the Durslys inwardly and gave Harry an encouraging smile.

"Nonsense. There's nothing to be sorry about." she said, then a brilliant idea struck her. "How about I teach you how to play it properly?" She asked.

The change in Harry was so drastic that it was almost hard to believe that he was the same boy who she found collapsed in her garden.

"Really? You mean it?" Harry asked excitedly, a wide grin nearly splitting his face. Mrs. Figgs chuckled.

"Yes, I mean it." She said, gently prying the violin out of his hands. "However, it is getting late so, how about that tea?"

Packing the violin back into its case. She turned around only to be nearly knocked over with the force of Harry's hug.

"Thank you." He sobbed, clinging tightly to her skirt. A lump formed in the back of Mrs. Figgs throat.

"There, there." she said, patting his head,"You're always welcome in my home." Picking him up and cradling him to his chest like she used to do, once a year, on his birthday.

"Now, let's drink some tea and get you home." she said as she attempted to put Harry down on the love seat.

"No!" Harry shouted, clutching at Mrs. Figgs.

Unbalanced she fell into the love seat with Harry. Quickly turning about she caught the squirming child on her lap.

"I know they are awful, despicable people and if I had my way, you wouldn't ever have to see them again." Harry looked up at her, surprised to hear someone else voice that opinion. "However, there is a reason that you must go back there. A reason that I will explain to you soon." ,she said quietly," I will speak to Mrs. Dursly about you coming to see me as often as possible and when in front of them it is important that you do not seem happy. I will also pretend to not care about you, but it will only be an act to trick them. Do you understand?" She asked turning Harry to face her. "Because I do care for you Harry. Care for you as if you were my own." Her eyes filling with tears, she struggled to keep her voice steady. "I know that it's a lot to ask of you, but can you be strong? For me?" she asked, her voice wavering.

Harry's bottom lip quivered, but he nodded." Okay." he whispered.

Wiping her eyes, Mrs. Figgs smiled at him weakly. Pulling him into a hug she said," Thank you."  The hug lasted until the kettle started to whistle. Reluctantly, Mrs. Figgs got up." Now how about that tea, hmm?"she asked as she whisked together some camomile tea, adding a strange green powder when Harry wasn't looking.

Sitting back down, they sipped tea and chatted about the violin, cats,music, and loads of other things. At first Harry was quiet, but after awhile began to tell Mrs. Figgs about how he likes to draw and how he enjoyed playing the ukulele until Uncle Vernon had taken it away. All too soon the clock struck six and Mrs. Figgs sighed.

"It's time to go Harry." She said as she slipped on her shawl. Harry's face fell, but he didn't argue. Putting on her hat, she took Harry by the hand and led him outside.

They walked most of the way in silence, but when they got to Pivet Drive Mrs. Figgs released his hand. Giving him a reassuring smile, she rang the doorbell. The door opened to reveal Mrs. Dursly, a painfully fake smile on her face, she said in an equally fake polite voice," Mrs. Figgs. Thank you for walking Harry home. I'm sure it must have been difficult for you." looking at Harry she motioned him inside. "Yes, yes." ,Mrs. Figgs said impatiently," Now, I was wondering if you could spare the boy on the weekends. You see, I'm getting old and he was such a help with the cats that I wondered if you would allow him to come help when he has spare time." she said,pausing to see the reaction to her request.

At first Mrs. Dursly looked astonished, then a look of pure glee crossed her face. "Of course I would love to lend him to you. Just let me check with my husband.  Vernon!" she called over her shoulder.

Mr. Dursly lumbered out into the hallway. " What is it dear?" He rumbled.

" Mrs. Figgs here was wondering if we could spare Harry on the weekends to help her with her cats. Is that alright with you dear?" Mrs. Dursly asked.

An ugly smile spread across Mr. Dursly's face. "Of course he may. I'm sure he won't mind, isn't that right boy?" Mr. Dursly said , trying ( and failing ) to glare at Harry discreetly.

Swallowing the urge to grab Harry and keep him somewhere safe, preferably far away from these people,Mrs. Figg said,

" Very well, I will expect him to be at my house at six o'clock sharp." Then turning to Harry said with a discreet smile," Don't be late."

Then squaring her shoulders hobbled down the path to give the appearance of being strict and frail at the same time. All the while hoping to God that she can spare the boy some pain and heal his broken heart.

 

 

 


	2. Draco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter as promised.  
> It would have been finished a lot soon, but........I hit a button accidentally and deleted all my progress!!!  
> Any hoot, here it is and I decided to have Draco and Harry in Ravenclaw.  
> It was a big debate between me, myself, and I. Not to mention my sis.  
> Well, I hope you like this one. I don't know anything about pianos so sorry about any inaccuracies.  
> Enjoy!

The first time Draco saw a piano he was seven years old on a particularly drizzly September day. His parents were hosting some important meeting or the other and couldn't be bothered with him. Which, wasn't what they said exactly, but was what they had implied. Draco didn't really mind. They were sending him to Professor Snape's house for the day to keep him out of the way. He liked Professor Snape, ( a lot more than he did his parents). He had tutored Draco since he was four. Professor Snape always had time for him and didn't brush his questions of like they were an annoyance.                              

" Draco." his mother called. " Hurry up, darling. We don't have much time until people begin to arrive."

Sighing, Draco picked up his knapsack which contained: his homework, the book he had borrowed from Professor Snape, and a notebook. Because it was always a good idea to have a notebook when in the presence of Professor Snape. Grabbing a quill, Draco raced down the stairs and nearly collided headlong into his mother.

"Draco. How many times must I tell you? No running. It simply isn't what a Malfoy does." his mother admonished.

Draco rolled his eyes, having heard this lecture a hundred times over. Shaking her head, Narcissa took Draco's hand and lead him outside the property where they could Apparate. Draco never could get used to the sensation, but he did appreciate getting to his destination faster. After the unpleasant sensation that was Apparition, Draco found himself at the beginning of a narrow, gravel path. The path navigated through an elegant flower garden and led up to a small, quaint, farmhouse. The door opened to reveal a tall, pale man in black robes and with rather greasy, black hair.

"Professor!" Draco cried, running down the path and enveloping his rather foreboding teacher in an enthusiastic hug. Unperturbed by the child clinging to his legs, Snape nodded a farewell to Narcissa and watched as she disapparated. Then, untangling Draco from his person, Snape led the boy inside and closed the door behind them. Draco looked about himself curiously. For, although he had known Professor Snape for as long as he could remember, this was his first time being in his tutor's home. He found himself in a small hallway lined from top to bottom with bookshelves. Draco was reminded of a Japanese word that he had read about in one of the books in the Manor's library. Tsundoku.

" Go wait in the living room." Professor Snape said, interrupting Draco's musings, and motioned to a barely visible door to Draco's right.  " I will go make us some tea." That said, Snape walked off through another door on the right-hand side of the hallway. Going through the door on his left, Draco found himself in a small, cozy room also covered in books. There were so many books that he couldn't even tell what the walls were made of. " Although," Draco mused," I wouldn't put it past Professor to have made the walls themselves out of books." Smiling at the thought, Draco continued his exploration of the room. It was lit up by a fire, roaring merrily in the hearth, which was located in the center of the room and to one corner stood a round table with two stools around it. In the opposite corner, there stood a rather odd table. It was odd because the tabletop was far too thick and it curved down on one end in a manner that would make anything placed on it slide off. Curious, Draco neared it, absently dropping his bag on the floor. He ran his hands over the smooth, glossy surface and sat down on the bench he found placed at the lower end.

" It's called a piano." Professor Snape said, from the doorway where he was holding two cups of steaming tea.

Startled, Draco looked up from where he had been staring, mesmerized, at the odd table.

" My mother used to play it." Snape said, moving over to the table and placing the cups down on it. " She was quite talented and passed down her knowledge of the instrument to me." Snape continued, picking up Draco's bag and also placing it on the table.

"What does it do?" Draco asked. Something about the strange instrument intrigued him and he felt drawn to it.

" It makes music," Snape said, moving over to the piano. " I'll show you." Bending over, Snape lifted off the top of the piano and propped it up. Then he reached down and lifted up the top of the lower end as well, revealing a row of long white blocks with short black ones on top.

"These are called keys." Professor Snape explained, scooting Draco over so that he could fit on the bench. Positioning his fingers above the keys, Professor Snape began to press down on them. As he rapidly moved his fingers over the keys, a beautiful melody ensued. Mesmerized, Draco closed his eyes and let himself be carried away in the music.

All too soon, the music ended and Draco found himself wanting more. Looking up at his Professor with his eyes full of eager anticipation, he asked in a voice quivering with excitement," Will you teach me how to play?"

Looking down at Draco, Snape saw the eagerness in his eyes and noted the excitement in his voice. He found himself quite incapable of declining. " Very well." He said, picking the child up and placing him on his lap. "Now, this key here plays the note Do."

 

                                                                                                                                         ........................................................................................................................

 

After an enjoyable afternoon, during which Draco showed an amazing aptitude for the piano, the clock struck six and the spell of music was broken. Sighing, Snape rose from his spot at the table, where he had been grading Draco's homework while Draco practiced his scales, and began to collect the music sheets which had somehow made their way throughout the room. " It's time to clean up, Draco." Snape said, " We must hurry before your mother arrives."

"Aww. May I at least play my scales for Mother?" Draco whined," Please?"

Snape paused in his cleaning and turned to face Draco. " I don't think that would be wise." he said, " I think it would be best if this remained our secret." he continued, going back to his cleaning.

"Why?" Draco asked, a confused expression on his face.

Snape sighed. Sitting down on the bench again, Snape motioned for Draco to join him. Draco obligingly clambered onto his tutor's lap and, after some wriggling, looked up at his professor in anticipation. Taking a deep breath Snape began to explain, in the simplest way he could, about Muggles, Muggleborn, and a bad man that tried to rid the world of them. As gently as he could Snape explained his parents' standpoint on the issue and how they would not approve of Draco learning a muggle skill. After Snape finished his explanation, Draco was silent. He took a deep shaky breath, " Are my parents, bad people?" He asked, his voice giving away the sadness that prevailed at hearing Snape's' words. Snape searched himself for a suitable answer, but for the first time in his life, found none. Taking Professor Snape's silence as an affirmative, Draco slid off the bench and quietly continued to tidy the room. Snape observed the boy anxiously, worried that he might have caused a rift between himself and his charge. Setting the last of the music sheets by the piano, Draco looked up at his professor. Smiling through a tear stained face he said," Even if my parents don't approve, I still want to learn more about the piano." 

Snape relaxed because loathe as he was to admit it, he had grown fond of the boy. Picking up the music sheets, Snape placed them on top of the piano and moved over to one of the numerous bookshelves. Pulling out a thin book Snape took out his wand and transfigured the cover. He handed it to Draco, explaining," It's a basic guide to the piano, but I transfigured it to look like an ordinary notebook so your parents won't find out should they happen upon it."

Draco took it and began to flip through it, his eyes widening in excitement with every turn of the pages. "Thank you!"  He exclaimed, nearly knocking Snape over with the force of his hug. " When can I have another lesson?" he asked, his voice muffled by Snape's robes.

Snape smiled. "I believe I can convince your parents to allow weekend lessons here at my home." he said, returning the hug with a gentle squeeze.

                                                                                                                                                      


	3. A Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, here's another chapter. Enjoy!

"Up! Get up! Now!" Aunt Petunia's shrill voice screeched. Harry woke with a start and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He got out of his bed, summoned his glasses with a wave of his hand and flipping the light switch. Nothing happened. Sighing, Harry held his palm out face up and a little ball of blue light began to glow. Harry smiled at it for a moment. It had been nearly four years since he started learning the violin from Mrs. Figg and nearly three years since he had begun to perform magic.  

"Up!" His aunt screeched, rapping on the door to his cupboard. 

"I'm up." Harry said, fighting to keep his annoyance in check. The ball of light lit up the corners of his cupboard. Locating his socks, Harry pulled a spider off them. He was used to spiders because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them. He never referred to the cupboard as his room because he felt that if he did it would really become his room and he would be stuck there forever. He yawned and rubbed his eyes again. He didn't get much sleep last night, he had stayed up writing notes on the walls and practicing his magic. After his first bout with wild magic, Harry had become determined to control it and had succeeded beyond his expectations. He could perform all the spells in the Basic Spells book Mrs. Figg had gifted him on his eighth birthday and he had even mastered some of the more complex spells from Mrs. Figg's other books. He had learned a lot from her. She had told him all about Britan's Wizarding Society, about Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, the war, his parents, and she had even given him some magic candies. But, most importantly she had taught him the violin.

Waving his hand and erasing the notes on the walls while simultaneously disappearing the ball of light, Harry left the cupboard without a backward glance. Cautiously entering the kitchen, Harry was greeted by a horrible stench. It seemed to be coming from a tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water.

" What's this?" he asked his aunt. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.

"Your new school uniform." she said

"Oh," he said. "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."

"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia." I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."

Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. Especially because he knew for a fact that he wouldn't be going to Stonewall High, but rather to Hogwarts Scool of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mrs. Figg told him last week that his letter should arrive that day and Harry was nearly giddy with anticipation. It was taking all the self-control he could muster not to show his delight, but in the back of his mind, a doubt still persisted. What if the letter never came? He had voiced this worry to Mrs. Figg, but she had just laughed it off. Assuring him that a talented wizard such as himself did not need to worry about that at all. Harry smiled as Mrs. Figg's voice echoed in his head, " _Harry, you mastered nonverbal, wandless magic when you were nine. Ther isn't even the slightest possibility that it won't come."_

"What are you smiling at?" snapped his aunt, still irritated at him.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just looking forward to school." Harry replied, feigning innocence. 

His aunt glared at him suspiciously, but was saved from interrogation by the entrance of his Uncle Vernon and his cousin Dudley.  Both wrinkled their noses because of the smell from Harry's uniform, but wisely didn't say anything. Uncle Vernon sat and opened his newspaper while Dudley banged his Smeltings stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. 

They heard the click of the letterbox and flop of letters on the doormat. Harry's heart raced with excitement and he fought to keep his face neutral. He knew that if he bided his time, he would be sent to get the post. 

"Get the post, Dudley." said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.  

"Make Harry get it."

"Get the post, Harry."

"Make Dudley get it."

"Poke him with your Smeltings stick, Dudley."

Harry dodged the blow, hiding his triumphant smirk. Then, trying to look as sulky as possible, slipped out into the hallway to get the post. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Aunt Marge, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and- _his letter._ Nearly choking on his rapturous joy, Harry shrunk the letter and slid it into his pocket.

"Hurry up, boy!" His uncle shouted from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.

Harry went back and handed the rest of the post over to his uncle. Then turning and heading out of the kitchen, he was stopped by his aunt.

" And where do you think you're going?" she asked, gripping his arm so hard that her nails were leaving indents.

"Mrs, Figg asked me to help her again today." Harry replied, trying his best to look downcast at the prospect. Looking up at his aunt hopefully, he widened his eyes. "Unless you don't want me to go? I'm sure Mrs. Figg wouldn't mind if I didn't go over just for one day." 

His uncle glared at him. "Trying to shirk your duties, boy?" He yelled, his face getting dangerously red. : I'll have none of that! You go over there this instant and I don't want to hear any complaints of tardiness." He continued yelling, rising from his chair.

Harry quickly shook off his aunt's hand and scurried out the door. He didn't stop running until he reached Mrs. Figg's house. He rang the doorbell then shifted from foot to foot eagerly as waited for her to answer. Creaking open, the door revealed a tired and slightly more gray, Mrs. Figg. Her face lit up when she saw Harry on her doorstep. " Harry dear!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. " What on earth are you doing here?"

After a quick squeeze, because Mrs. Figg hugs were the best and not to be wasted, he dragged her inside.

"It came! It came!" he cried jumping up and down in rapturous delight.

"Oh my goodness me." Mrs. Figg said, sinking down into the love seat. "Well, let's see it," she said, fishing around for her reading glasses. 

"Here it is," Harry said, producing the shrunken letter and enlarging it. Ripping it open Harry began to read;                                                                                                           

  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry                                                                                                    

 Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore                                                                                                   

 [ Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, 

 Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards]

  Dear, Mr. Potter,

   We are pleased to inform you that you have a place Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

  Please find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

                                                                                                    Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                       _Minerva McGonagall_

                                                                                                     Deputy Headmistress

Barely pausing for breath, Harry finished reading the letter and looked at Mrs. Figg with shining eyes. Smiling at him Mrs. Figg said," I'm so proud of you." It was true. Her chest was nearly bursting with the amount of pride she felt for the child. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that this was the same frightened child she had found in her back yard.

"Mrs. Figg?" Harry asked, breaking her train of thought. 

"Yes, dear?"

He fidgeted and asked hesitantly, " You'll take me to Diagon Alley, won't you?"

"Of course, darling." she assured him. "We'll just have to come up with a story the Dursleys." She got up and went to fetch the violin, racking her mind for a suitable excuse.

"About that," Harry began. "I have a plan."

Mrs. Figg turned and looked at him expectantly. She had come to respect the boy's plans. As they were often quite clever, if albeit it, a little naive. " Yes, what is it?" she asked, prepared to do her part.

"I was thinking of putting them under a memory charm." he said.

Mrs. Figg blinked. Having made a study of spells herself, despite being a Squib, she knew memory charms to be quite advanced. Wondering how he even came across the spell, she chose instead to ask. "Are you sure you can perform it?"

Harry nodded his head vigorously. " I'm sure." Then, lowering his gaze guiltily, he said. " I've sort of been practicing on your cats."

Mrs. Figgs looked at the closest tabby in alarm. 

" They're alright." Harry hastened to assure her. "I performed the counter spell on them and they were fine."

Shaking her head, Mrs. Figg asked, "Are you sure you can perform it on humans?" She wasn't quite willing to approve a plan with a limited chance of success. 

Harry nodded once again. " I tested it on Dudley and his gang."  

Mrs. Figg frowned. "I know I've told you before not to practice your magic on Muggles. Even the horrible ones." she scolded lightly. She sighed. "Alright. If you have the confidence to do it, I don't see why not. What will you change?" She asked, curious despite her disapproval. 

"I'll just change the start of term date for Stonewall High to be 1 September and change the location to require a train ride. I'll also plant a memory of Dudley getting a reward for the best-behaved boy at school and they were planning to go to the zoo all day on whatever day we decide to go to Diagon Alley." Harry explained. A frown marred his features. " How will we pay for it all?" he asked.

"Oh don't fret, child." Mrs. Figg said assuredly. " I have it from a good source that your parents left you quite a sum. There should be more than enough to pay for your school supplies." Pulling the violin out of its case, she turned and handed it to him. "Now, why don't you play something to celebrate."

Taking the violin, Harry gently cradled it under his chin. Dragging the bow across the strings, Harry began to play the melody he had written the night before. Closing his eyes, he lost himself in the music. His fingers flew, going from slow and melodious to fast and wild. Hitting the final crescendo, Harry finished and opened his eyes. Looking at Mrs. Figg, he was startled to see tears running down her cheeks. "Are you alright?" he asked anxiously.

Wiping her eyes, Mrs. Figg looked at him in amazement. "Did you compose this yourself?" she asked, her voice full of pride.

Harry looked at her uncertainly. " Yes, I wrote it out last night when I couldn't sleep." He said slowly, still looking at her anxiously. " Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes, dear. I'm quite alright. Your song was just so beautiful that it moved me to tears." Mrs. Figg said. Getting up out of the love seat she gathered some blank music sheets and a quill. "Now, let's put that in writing shall we?"

                                                                                                                                                    ...................................................................................... 

 Returning to Privet Drive who should he run into, but Dudley. "Hey, wimp." his fat cousin said, brandishing his Smeltings stick. "I want to practice hitting something."

Harry calmly reached out with his magic, his thoughts focused on the story he had made up for his cousin. Dudley's eyes glazed over and harry repeated the story in low, clear tones. Once he was certain the story had stuck, Harry withdrew his magic and hurried inside.

"Duddins, is that you?" his Aunt Petunia called. Entering the kitchen, Harry found both his aunt and uncle sitting at the table and once again reached out with his magic. His aunt and uncle's eyes glazed over and Harry repeated the story each two times over.

Then, withdrawing his magic, he retreated to the cupboard. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like how Mrs. Figg said that she was proud of him. Not that his parents would be. I mean, not enough people say that they are proud fo him. Don;t you think?


	4. Diagon Alley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, ya'll! Here's the next chapter. Sorry, it took me so long. I got sidetracked by spectrograms. They're really interesting!  
> Anyhoot, this as always is not betaed so sorry for any mistakes.  
> Also here is a DISCLAIMER.  
> I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE ORIGINAL HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS AND A LOT OF THE DESCRIPTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN STRAIGHT FROM THE BOOK.  
> The next two chapters have been written and will be posted soon.  
> Patience. ;)

The morning of July 31 dawned and Harry woke with a start to his aunt's screeches. Jumping out of bed, Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. He hadn't been much sleep as of late. The elusive bliss of slumber eluding him as his mind clouded over with worries. He only had barely a month left before performing magic in the Muggle world became illegal for him to do. Possible plans formulating in his mind, Harry lit up his room, his light still being out, and headed out to the kitchen. 

Upon entering the kitchen, Harry was met with a stack of recipes being practically shoved in his face.

" Get started." his aunt said. " I want everything to be perfect, so don't you dare make a mistake or you'll spend the next two days in your room until we get back."

" Yes, ma'am," said Harry, glancing at the clock and inwardly groaning at how early it was. He stifled a yawn and got to work on cooking what seemed like a feast for his entire school. Thankfully the recipes were pretty simple, at least compared to some of the potion recipes he had been reading about, and he completed his tasks a few hours later. His aunt had been running all over the house gathering silverware, blankets, pillows, and so on. She paused her in her packing frenzy only to criticize Harry's cooking, but she ultimately couldn't find a big enough flaw to lock him away.   

"When you're done with the cooking, start washing up." she said shortly, not bothering to check his work. "  Be sure to be done before Vernon and Dudley come downstairs or else." Glaring at Harry she walked out of the kitchen, presumably to rouse said relatives. Camley setting his usual cleaning spells up, Harry finished up the last of the cooking and hand washed the last of the dishes, so as to have a margin of truth in his reply should his aunt question him. Taking off the cleaning spells, harry quickly set the table and waited for his wretched relatives to appear. His aunt was the first one down and she pursed her lips when she saw the sparkling clean kitchen. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the arrival of her darling Dudders. 

Struggling not to retch as he watched his aunt coddle Dudley, Harry tried his best to seem wistful as if he wanted very much to go with them. Eventually, the Dursleys finished their breakfast and got ready to leave. Harry slowly made his to the door, trying his best to seem reluctant. Reaching the door without any interference, Harry slipped outside and immediately bolted down the driveway. He didn't stop running until he reached Mrs. Figg's house. Ringing the doorbell Harry waited impatiently for Mrs. Figg to answer. The door opened and Mrs. Figg pulled him inside.    

"There you are dear." she said pulling Harry into a hug. 

"Mmmmm-mmmm. " Harry said, his voice muffled in the folds of Mrs. Figg's clothes. 

"What's that dear? " she said releasing him and looking him over with a critical eye.

" When is the bus getting here?" He asked, squirming with excitement. 

" Not yet, dear." Mrs. Figg said, amused at his excitement. Then handed him a brown parcel and motioned the stairs at the back of the house. " Go on up and get changed, but do try and hurry."

"Yes, Mrs. Figg. " Harry said politely taking the parcel and heading up to the room she had set aside for his use.

Occasionally, the Dursleys would leave him at Mrs. Figgs for a night, but more often than not he would stay here when he had run away from his wretched relatives. Shaking off these unpleasant memories, Harry unwrapped the parcel. A dark green zip-up hoodie fell out followed by a blue T- shirt and a pair of jeans. Smiling, Harry quickly discarded his old hand me downs and slipped on his new clothes. Heading back downstairs, Harry marveled at how the comfortable proper clothes was.  It was a pleasant change from the old baggy clothes that were too loose in some places and too tight in others, resulting in many unpleasant wedgies. 

"Harry, dear." Mrs. Figg called. Looking up he found himself at the bottom of the staircase with an anxious looking Mrs. Figg staring at him. " Are you sure everything fits? " 

Harry nodded vigorously. " Yes, they're amazing." he assured, running over to her and giving her a hug. " Thank you." He mumbled into her shoulder, his voice breaking with gratitude. 

Her eyes suspiciously wet, Mrs. Figg patted him on the back, returning his hug. " There, there." she said, trying to keep her voice level. Changing the subject, she pulled away and fetched a small pot from the nearby table. " Now, I know that you're worried about being recognized, so I got some cover up to ...well, cover up that scar of yours." she said. popping open the lid. " Now hold still.

A few minutes later, with scar successfully covered up, they went out onto the sidewalk. Harry looked up and down the street eagerly. Mrs. Figg had told that they would be taking the Knight Bus and he hoped that they hadn't missed it. Mrs. Figg held her hand out to the road and a large purple bus appeared. The door opened up and Mrs. Figg ushered him inside. Giving the driver the address, she paid him and then hurried over to find a seat. Harry looked around bewilderedly. There were so many seats. Sitting in the seat closest to Mrs. Figg, Harry looked at all the seats and realized with a sickening feeling that none of them were bolted down. The door closed and the bus shot off with a bang. The seats immediately started shooting to the back. The bus took a left and all chairs shot to one side. Harry looked out the window, which proved to be a mistake as he had to will himself not to vomit. The bus was going so fast that everything it passed just turned into a never-ending blur. Worse, it was driving in the middle of the road seemingly oblivious to all the traffic laws it was breaking. Looking to Mrs. Figg he was astonished to see that see was calmly reading her spell book.

"Mrs. Figg." he groaned.

" Yes, dear?" she said looking up from her book. A look of understanding crossed her face when see saw how green Harry was. " Ah, the first time is always the worst. I wish I had the foresight to bring a paper bag." She said rummaging around in her purse. " Oh, well. Nothing for it, but to try your best not to be sick." Seeing his uncomforted look she hastened to assure him that they were, indeed, almost there. Sure enough, the bus lurched to a stop a few minutes later, throwing Harry onto the floor. Following Mrs. Figg off the bus on shaking legs, Harry looked around to see that they were in London. The bus door closed behind them and shot off with a loud crack. Harry looked up and down the street anxiously, certain that even the most oblivious muggle would have heard that. 

" Muggle repellent charms." Mrs. Figg supplied, noticing his confusion. " They are very powerful and can last quite a long time." she continued, taking his hand and leading him inside a tiny, grubby-looking pub.

The pub was very dark and shabby. A few women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe and nodded a greeting to Mrs. Figg. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman, who was quite a bit bald and looked like a gummy walnut. Harry shuddered at the thought of how all these people would react if they knew that he was Harry Potter. Suddenly very grateful that they had covered the scar up, he huddled a little closer to Mrs. Figg. Sensing his discomfort Mrs. Figg led him through the bar quickly and quietly, only nodding to a few people and stopping to ask the barman something. In that short interval, harry risked a look around and his eyes caught those of a pale man sitting close to the back. In that brief moment a hot, searing pain flashed across his scar, causing Harry to lose eye contact with the man.  

"Ouch." Harry said, clapping a hand to his forehead.

Mrs. Figg stopped and bent down to look him the eye. " Are you alright, dear? " she asked checking him over for injuries.

" It's nothing." he said, not wanting to bring attention to himself.

" Ah- huh." She muttered unconvinced, but thankfully let the matter drop.

Taking his hand she led him through a door in the back of the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dustbin and a few weeds.  

They were met by the barman who, after some polite words to Mrs. Figg, tapped on one of the bricks on the far end wall with his wand. The brick he had touched quivered- it wriggled- in the middle, a small hole appeared- it grew wider and wider- a second later they were facing an archway large enough for an elephant to get through, an archway onto a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.

Mrs. Figg chuckled as Harry turned around and around in amazement. His gaze landed on a stack of cauldrons, glinting in the sun, outside the nearest shop. CALDRONS - ALL SIZES - COPPER - BRASS - SILVER - SELF-STIRRING - COLLAPSIBLE said a sign hanging over them.

" Yes, you'll be needing one of those." Mrs. Figg said, following his gaze. " But first, Gringotts." she said taking his hand and guiding him down the street.

Harry wished he had eight pairs of eyes. Mrs. Figg had told him all about Diagon Alley but it was another thing entirely to experience it. There was so much to see. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments that Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering stacks of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon.......

" Here we are, dear." Mrs. Figg said coming to a stop. They had reached a snowy-white building which towered over all the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was a goblin. Harry tried not to stare as they walked up the white stone steps toward it, despite it being his first time seeing one in person. The goblin bowed as they walked past him and inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon it.

 

ENTER STRANGER, BUT TAKE HEED

OF WHAT AWAITS THE SIN OF GREED,

FOR THOSE WHO TAKE BUT DO NOT EARN,

MUST PAY MOST DEARLY IN THEIR TURN,

IF YOU SEEK BENEATH OUR FLOORS

A TREASURE THAT WAS NEVER YOURS,

THEIF, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, BEWARE

OF FINDING MORE THAN TREASURE THERE

 

Harry shuddered thinking of what horrendous fates must have befallen all the fools who had attempted to steal from here. 

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred goblins were sitting in large ledgers, weighing coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these.

Mrs. Figg and Harry made their way over to a counter.

"Good morning, Mr. Randell." Mrs. Figg said, politely addressing a free goblin. " We've come to make a withdrawal on Mr. Harry Potters account."

The goblin, Mr. Randell, nodded his greeting to Mrs. Figg. " Do you have his key? " He asked.

" I do indeed." Mrs. Figg said, reaching into her purse and withdrawing a tiny golden key.

Mr. Randell looked at it closely. " That seems to be in order."  turning to the side he called out, " Griphook."

Griphook turned out to be yet another goblin.

"Griphook will take you to Mr. Potter's vault. " Mr. Randell said, turning back to his accounting papers.

Harry waited patiently for Mrs. Figg to say her farewells, then they followed Griphook out through one of the numerous doors. Harry found himself in a narrow stone passage lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor.

"Mrs. Figg, how do you know so many people?" Harry asked as Griphook whistled and a cart came trundling up the tracks.

" Oh, I meet many kinds of people in my line of work." She said as they clambered into the cart. " In the case of goblins, sometimes the particular spell I'm working with needs a goblins touch. Mr. Randell has helped me many times over the years." she continued as the cart shot off down the passageway at an incredible speed. " Goblins are quite interesting beings to talk to and can be quite civilized if one talks politely. Why don't you try introducing yourself to Griphook here." She said pulling out her spell book and quill.

Turning to the goblin Harry realized that it wasn't steering the cart. Biting the millions of questions that had immediately flooded his mind, he introduced himself.

Startled, Griphook turned to him. "I'm Griphook. What do want?" the goblin said flatly not seeming to care whether he was talking to The Boy Who Lived or not, much to Harry's relief. Taking that as an invitation, Harry began asking the goblin questions. Hesitant at first, he gradually increased his speed of questioning. Met with satisfactory, if somewhat vague answers, which Harry decided he would look into later, the cart ride passed quickly and they soon stopped outside a small door in the passage wall.

Griphook hopped out of the cart and went over to unlock the door. Harry followed suit, then Mrs. Figg put her book away and clambered out with some difficulty.

" I'm fine." She said in answer to Harry's concerned gaze. " I'm just not as young as I used to be."

Harry looked as if he wanted to inquire further, but his attention was captured by the haze of green smoke that billowed out of the now open vault door. As it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of Galleons, columns of sickles, heaps of bronze Knuts.

Mrs. Figg talked over how much should be taken out for Harry's school expenses with Griphook while Harry made a brief estimate of how much money was in the vault. He still couldn't quite believe that this was all his. He looked around in amazement. Mrs. Figg had said that his parents had left him quite a sum, but this? It was incredible. The Dursleys can't have known about this or they would have had it from him in a trice.

"Come along Harry. " Mrs. Figg called. "I've taken out enough for your school expenses and additional purchases." She said taking his hand and following Griphook back to the cart. " Griphook made the calculations so be sure and thank him." she continued as the cart shot off.

"Thank you, Griphook." Harry shouted over the wind.

"Don't mention it." the goblin said flashing him a quick, warm grin.

One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringott. Saying his farewells to Griphook Harry then turned to Mrs. Figg. He was eager to go look at books, but Mrs. Figg had other ideas.

" Why don't we go get your robes first?" She said nodding to a nearby shop. " As we are the closest to Madam Malkins and robes are light." She continued, walking over to said shop. Knowing that it would be useless to argue with her, Harry followed reluctantly. Entering the shop with his mind on possible uses for Muggle Repellent charms and expansion spells, Harry was startled by the delighted squeal of a squat witch dressed all in mauve. 

" Arabella! New robes already?" the witch said, rushing forward and giving Mrs. Figg a hug. 

" No, no, Serena. We're just here to get Harry's school robes." Mrs. Figg said pulling Harry out from behind her.

" Ah, yes. " Madam Malkin said. " Got the lot in here - another young man being fit up just now, in fact." she continued, pulling Harry to the back of the shop. Harry looked back uncertainly at Mrs. Figg.

"I'll be waiting right here, darling." she said, sitting down on one of the plush maroon chairs and taking out her book.

 Feeling a little bit braver, Harry allowed himself to be guided to a footstool next to a pale blond boy getting his robes pinned up by another witch. The boy looked like he was trying very hard not to do something. Harry's vision was blocked for a moment by a long black robe which Madam Malkin had slipped over his head and began to pin. 

" This would be easier if you would lower your wards." she said gently.

Startled, Harry realized that at some point in the day he had raised his wards and sheepishly lowered them. He tried to ignore the immediate feeling of insecurity that enveloped him comforting himself with thoughts of the new music piece he was working on. His protective music bubble was penetrated, however by a familiar tune. He looked around and realized that the music was coming from the boy next to him. 

" Beethoven, am I right?" He asked, recognizing the tune.

The boy jumped, causing the witch pinning his robes to grumble.

" Um. Yes, it's The Moonlight Sonata. " he said, looking at Harry uncertainly. " Do you know it?" he asked with a curious look on his face.

" Yeah, a little. I only heard it once." Harry said nodding.

" Really? So you're a muggle born then." The boy said sounding downcast at the last sentence.

" No, but my mom was one." Harry said, brushing off the feeling of dismay at the question, well, more like statement really. He hoped that this boy wasn't prejudiced. 

" Your mom was a what, muggle born?" the boy inquired. 

"Yeah, and my Dad was a wizard. Why, does it really matter?" Harry said, getting mildly irritated and wishing they could just get back to talking about music. 

" Oh, well not much I guess." The boy said then, abruptly changing the subject, began talking about the finer points of Beethoven's piano pieces.  

Joining in Harry talked about the finer points of violin solos. 

"That's you done then." Madam Malkin said, interrupting a heated debate on whether or not the Moonlight Sonata would be better with the addition of a violin.

Reluctantly, the boys stopped talking and Harry climbed off the stool. 

"So, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts." The boy said, sad to see Harry go.

"I guess so." Harry said smiling at the boy. " I'm Harry by the way."

"Draco." The boy, Draco, said returning the smile.

Nodding a farewell, Harry followed Mrs. Figg out of the shop.

" I see someone made a friend." she said, smiling knowingly at him.

Harry thought about it for a moment. " Yes, I suppose I have." He said, the concept strange to him. The more he thought about it the happier he became. He never had a friend before. Dudley and his gang had made sure of that. He grinned to himself and couldn't help the shudder of excitement at the prospect of making many more friends, away from the Dursleys clutches.

They stopped at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour across the street. After a brief conversation between Mrs. Figg and the owner, who had evidently grown up in the same neighborhood, Harry ordered a small Rasberry Sundae and sat at one of the indoor tables to eat.

"So," Mrs. Figg began, sitting across from Harry, " what really happened back at the Leaky Cauldron?" she asked, giving him a searching look.

Harry took another bite of his sundae and prepared his answer. " It was my scar." he said, hoping that would satisfy her. It didn't.

" Is it still hurting you?' she asked anxiously, leaning over to peer at his forehead.

"No, the pain stopped as fast as it had started." He said, letting her fuss over him. He found that he rather liked it.

"Hmm. Has this happened before?" she asked, pursing her lips like she always did when she thought Harry was hiding something from her.

" No." Harry said, shaking his head vigorously.

" Did anything set it off? Contact with a strange substance maybe? " She questioned her thinking face appearing.

Harry shook his head at each question, deciding not to worry her further with half thought out theories.

He finished his sundae while Mrs. Figg thought about all she knew about curse scars and occasionally asked Harry questions. Once Harry was finished they went over to Flourish and Blotts to get Harry's school supplies and restock Mrs. Figg's parchment supply. Harry found a notebook that would automatically shrink to pocket size when closed and happily bought it along with ink charmed to only show what you write to only you. He and Mrs. Figg spent a lovely couple of hours browsing through the book shelves and amassing giant stacks that they at a loss to carry. Reluctantly, they narrowed it down to a few select books. Mrs. Figg bought several books on curse scars and their treatment while Harry bought his school books and a few extra on expansion charms, muggle repellents, and basic wards. Leaving the book shop, burdened by their purchases, they stopped by a luggage store and Harry bought a medium-size brown leather case. It had expansion charms placed on it so it was as large as the first floor of Privet Drive and had bookshelves, a table, and two chairs inside. After leaving the shop, they placed their purchases inside before heading to the Eylop's Owl Emporium.   

The Emporium had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Although it took him a while, Harry chose a beautiful snowy owl. She settled on his shoulder where Harry had placed a leather patch and promptly fell asleep. He placed her cage in his case and followed Mrs. Figg to the last store.

It was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read  _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC._ A single wand lay on a faded purple in a dusty window.

A bell tinkled in the back of the store. Mrs. Figg sat on a spindly chair, falling asleep in a few moments.

"Good afternoon."  A soft voice said. Harry turned to look and his gaze was met with that of a small old man with pale eyes.

" Hello." Harry said politely. " I'm here for a wand."

" Ah, yes." the old man said. " You have your mothers' eyes but your fathers' spirit." the man, Mr. Ollivander, Harry presumed said.

"Thank you." Harry said, not really sure how to respond to that.

Mr. Ollivander smiled, making a shudder run down Harrys' spine. "Ah, let's see about a wand for you." He said reaching for one of the long dusty boxes lining the walls. 

"Which is your wand arm." He asked retrieving the box and a silver tape measure.

Harry raised his right arm. The tape measure then proceeded to measure him all on its own. Curious, Harry asked Mr. Ollivander about the charms on it, how long they would last, how does it know what to do, and so on. So absorbed was he in his questioning that he barely paid attention to the wands. 

Mr. Ollivander had him try a great many wands while supplying Harry with tidbits about wand lore. With every failed wand he seemed to get more and more excited. 

" A tricky customer, eh. " he said grabbing another box. " Here try this one, holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches."

Waving the wand, a few boxes floated upwards. Harry looked to Ollivander expectantly.

" Curious.......Curious indeed." The man said.

" What's curious?" Harry asked.

Me. Ollivander fixed his pale stare on Harry.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single one. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry looked thoughtful.

" Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. the wand chooses the wizard, remember..... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.....After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things - terrible, yes but great." Mr. Ollivander said still looking at Harry thoughtfully.

Mulling this information over, Harry said his farewells to Mr. Ollivander and roused Mrs. Figg. After paying for his wand they strolled around Diagon Alley for a bit and circled back to the bookstore to get more books. After eating dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, they took the Knight Bus home. The ride was just as crazy as before but there were beds so Harry felt a bit better.

They arrived at Mrs. Figg's place and spent an enjoyable evening arranging Harry's purchases in his case. Before heading to bed Harry played a violin accompaniment to The Moonlight Sonata, thinking of Draco and wondering if they will get the chance to finish their debate. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although I will definitely be continuing with this story, I can not promise regular updates.  
> Sorry.


	5. Off to Hogwarts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! New chapter!!!  
> Sorry it took so long, but typing a chapter out on and iphone is not easy.  
> Anyhoot, the next chapter is already written out and should be posted soon.
> 
> A fair warning though, this has a 80% chance of becoming a crack fic.   
> There are many headcannons and fun ideas.  
> Plot may happen in the background.  
> Enjoy!!

Harry's last month with the Dursleys was rather a lot of fun.

He stayed up late figuring out Muggle Repellant Charms for the first few days. Finally collapsing on his cot once he was certain they were comlplete. He double checked to make certain that he did them right in the morning so as not to have a repeat of last time.

His aunt Petunia had gone to knock on his door and was blasted away with such force that she dented the wall. Harry altered her memories, but was still blamed for the wall earning him a week locked up in the cupboard.

 Harry didn't really mind. He spent that time working on expansion charms and managed to expand it to the size of the Dursleys' parlor.

Hedwig, his owl ( named after a saint in his History of Magic book who could transform into an owl), was affected by this punishment the most. As she couldn't get outside to fly around. Getting her food wasn't so big a problem. His longtime gardens snake friends would sneak a rat or two into the house. Still, Hedwig was not pleased and would flap around his newly expanded room, swooping down to peck at him from time to time.

 Owls are moody.

With only two weeks left until September first, Harry spent as much time in his room as he could studying. Venturing out only so as not to cause suspicion and draw undue attention to himself.

On one such outing he had strayed farther from his neighborhood than usual and stumbled upon an old bookshop. There he picked up an interesting book on electronics with a chapter on how to fix faulty wiring in light fixtures. He thanked the kind wizened old man at the counter and made his way back to Privet Drive.

 Risking a short stop at Mrs. Figgs, Harry asked if there were any spells that could make a light bulb everlasting and chatted excitedly about the changes he had made to his cupboard. Departing with a spell to extend the lifespan of his light-bulb for ten years, Harry pondered on the use of his wand.

 Upon returning to Privet Drive, Harry slipped past the kitchen and into his room. He spent a few precious hours fixing the light in his room then, once satisfied with his work, fetched his wand and began practicing.

After an hour he gave up. He found it too unnecessarily complicated. He preferred wandless, nonverbal magic better.

At last with only a week left, Harry began to go about without his wards. It was a struggle for him as it meant that he had to, once again, bear the brunt of Dudley's abuse. Memories of which still haunted him both during the day and in his dreams.

 Despite the lack of sleep, Harry was nearly beside himself with joy on the day of his departure. He awoke at five'o' clock and, too excited to go back to sleep, decided to double check that he had everything packed.

 Getting out of bed and stretching, Harry turned on the light. His expanded room was now furnished with a few mostly empty bookshelves, a small chest of drawers, his cot, a makeshift hammock and a beanie bag.

 On top of the cupboard was a snow globe with a small snake in it. It was enchanted to change colors with the seasons and its shedded scales served as the 'snow'. Mrs. Figg had given it to him as a 'room-warming' gift.

Harry smiled, thinking of all the things he owed to Mrs. Figg and vowed to repay her in ten-fold in any way he could.

 Opening his case, Harry climbed down the narrow wooden stairs and through the narrow passageway were he had hung his clothes. The passageway led him to a large room. It was far bigger than any room Harry had ever been in. It could have fit at least three of the bedrooms from Privet Drive and then some. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were, admittedly, sparsely filled. There was a writing desk and chair, and an old squashy armchair( courtesy of Mrs. Figg). 

Mentally checking off his list, Harry made certain that everything was packed. Once certain, Harry looked around him thoughtfully. He raced back to his room and carefully brought back his snow globe. Snake globe? And placed it on his desk next to a dark case.

 Satisfied with his preparations and deciding that he still had plenty of time, Harry opened up the case.

 Another gift from Mrs. Figg. He pulled out his very own violin. It was made of a dark wood ( Mrs. Figg said it was oak) and was enchanted to shrink to pocket size as one wished.

Tuning the violin, Harry then played a few short melodies before he heard his aunt's screeches. Effectively spoiling his music. 

Glaring in her general direction, Harry packed away his violin and climbed out of his case.

" Up!" his aunt screeched.

" I'm up!" He called, latching his case shut and switching its settings to muggle proof.

 Turning off the light Harry stepped out of his room and looked back on it almost fondly. His room. He smiled. He had a room now and nothing could take it away from him.

 After the usual morning affairs, Harry found himself being driven to the station by his uncle Vernon. Apart from a few sharp words ( read as insults), the drive was mostly silent. 

Upon arriving at Kings Cross, Harry and his case was pratically flung from the car. With a shouted warning from his uncle, the car took off. Never to be seen again, Harry thought hopefully.

 Grinning to himself in glee Harry made his way over to platforms nine and ten. Then, making sure no one was paying him any undue attention, sprinted straight for the wall dividing the two platforms. He ran right through it. Opening his eyes, which he had squeezed shut at some point, Harry gasped in awe. A Scarlett steam engine was waiting next to a platform oddly bereft of people. A sign overhead said _Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock._ Harry glanced at his watch and saw that it was still only nine. Resigning himself to a long wait, Harry climbed aboard the train and sat on one of the back compartments.

 No one was on board yet so Harry put down a few wards and got out his violin. His hands were shaking with excitement, so much so that he could barely tune the violin. Finally getting it tuned, Harry began to play the violin accompaniment to the Moonlight Sonata he had perfected since meeting Draco.

 Sensing a disturbance in the for... his wards, Harry put away his violin and sat down. He took out his potions book and wondered who would enter the compartment first.

 The compartment door slid open and a tall, freckled, red-headed boy came in. He looked around Harry's age.

" Anyone sitting there?" he asked pointing at the seat opposite Harry.

 Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He stared at Harry and opened his mouth to say something when-

" Hey, Ron."

 Harry looked to the door to see a pair of red-headed twins just as tall as the other boy standing in the doorway. Guessing that they were brothers, Harry lent back and subtlety raised his wards.

" Listen," one of the twins said, oblivious to Harry's presence," we're going down the middle of the train-"

" Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." the other twin finished. Neither seemed to mind the interruption.

" Right," mumbled the boy, Ron.

 The twins left as abruptly as they had arrived and Harry couldn't help but find them interesting.

" Are you Harry Potter?" the boy, Ron. Blurted out breathlessly.

 Cursing his decision not to cover up his scar, Harry nodded dumbly.

" And have you really got- you know.." Ron asked motioning to Harry's forehead.

 Feeling both shy and increasingly irritated by Aron's questions, Harry raised his fringe of hair to show the nosy red-head his scar.

Ron stared.

" So that's where You-Know-Who --?" 

"Yes," said Harry, sifting uncomfortably." but I can't remember it."

" Nothing?" Ron said eagerly.

 Becoming more uncomfortable still, Harry searched about for anything to put the red-head off. "Well, I remember a lot of green light but nothing else."

" Wow." Ron said. He sat and stared for a few moments, then, as if he suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked out the window.

 Not feeling like continuing the conversation, Harry turned his attention to his potions book.

" I heard you went to live with muggles." Ron said, not taking the hint. "What are they like?"

 Sighing, Harry looked up from his book. " My relatives were awful, but Mr. Flamel was nice." Harry said, not wanting to give muggles a bad reputation. "I wish I had two wizard brothers though."

" Five," said Ron. For some reason he was looking gloomy. He then began to spout off all his grievances of being the youngest boy in a large family and so on.

 Harry, to his credit, attempted to seem interested, but really couldn't understand why the boy was telling him all this and began to think of the melody he had been learning.

 The boy seemed to have said something embarrassing , which Harry couldn't recall if his life depended on it, and thankfully stopped talking.

 Before the silence could get awkward, the compartment door slid open. A small blonde girl glided on.

" Is this spot taken?" She asked in an airy, musical voice.

 Harry shook his head. She sat down next to Harry and , Harry was pleased to note, began to read a magazine. Harry went back to his book, preparing to enjoy the rest of the train in companionable silence, when that boy( Row, Ross ?) started up again.

 Harry didn't pay much attention to the topic of conversation until the boy leaned over and whispered conspiratorially,

" That's Luna Lovegood. I hear their whole family are nutters."

Harry glanced up at the quiet girl sitting next to him. He didn't see anything wrong with her. Sure she was reading the magazine upside down, but that wasn't too weird. He thought she looked rather pleasant and told the boy as much.

 That, for some reason, offended the red-head as he sat back down scowling.

 Before things could escalate the compartment door opened once again. This time revealing a sniffling round faced boy looking for his toad. Taking pity on the boy, Harry silently summoned his toad and invited him inside.

 The boy, who introduced himself as Neville Longbottum, accepted gratefully and sat opposite of Luna. There was silence for a bit. 

" What are you reading?" Neville asked Luna, breaking the silence.

" The latest edition of the Quibbler." She replied in that same airy voice.

 "What is it about?" He inquired.

 " Oh, I'm reading the latest article on Nargles." She said looking up from her magazine innocently.

" Nargles?" Harry asked, getting curious despite himself.

 And so began a long discussion on what exactly a Nargles was and what it does. (They ignored the scoffs coming from the sulky red-head completely)

 At around twelve a lady came around with a trolley loaded with snacks. Harry, deciding that he wasn't really hungry, only got a bag of _Bertie's Every Flavor Beans._ Neville got some pumpkin pastries which he happily offered to split with everyone. (Red declined.)

 They had settled down to play a guessing game with Harry's beans when they heard the sound of someone running in the corridor. The patter of footsteps came to a halt outside their compartment and a rather flushed Draco entered, hastily closing the door behind him. Spotting Harry, Draco smiled.

" Mind if I join." He drawled.

 Harry smiled and was about to reply when-

" No, Harry!" Red exclaimed, jumping from his seat. His face turning as red as his hair. "It's one thing to have Loony Luna and Neville whose a compete duffer, but not him." He ignored the looks he was receiving and plowed on, seemingly determined to have his say. " I mean, he's evil. His entire family is! They're Death Eaters for crying out loud!" He cried, looking to Harry beseechingly.

 Harry stood up and looked the irate red-head in the eye. 

"I don't see how his parents decisions have anything to do with us." He said evenly. "I happen to not care who his parents are and what they have done. I rather enjoy his company, thank you very much." He paused for breath as Red sputtered.

" And I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my friends." He continued glaring at the tall red-head.

His face beet red, Red made a few more spluttering noises before stomping out of the compartment.

 There was silence.

" He wasn't very nice." Luna said.

 Everyone nodded silently.

" Exploding snap, anyone?" Draco said, producing a stack of cards from inside his robes.

 After a few games the door once again slid open. This time there was a boy and a girl. The girl was tall and had long black hair. The boy was a little taller than the girl, but had darker skin.

" Draco, there you are!" The girl gushed. "We were looking everywhere for you."

 The pair entered the compartment. 

"You were?" Draco asked hesitantly.

" Of course we were." The blonde boy drawled, giving a suggestive wink to Draco.

" Oh, umm." Draco said eloquently.

The girl sighed. 

" Honestly Draco?" Then, seeming to just notice the others, she looked at Draco expectantly. 

"Oh, this is Neville, Luna and Harry." Draco said, motioning to each person respectively. " This is Pansy and Blaise." He said, introducing the newcomers. "We were just playing Exploding Snap, you in?" he continued, dealing out the cards.

 The pair shared a look.

" Neville, as in Neville Longbottum?" Pansy said lightly.

" Yep." Draco said, popping the p.

Pansy looked at Draco, doubtfully.

Blaise on the other hand, settled himself next to Draco and took up his hand of cards.

" Come on Pansy." He said, waving at her to sit down. "Don't go all posh on us now!"

Glaring at that remark, Pansy sat down next to Luna and picked up her cards.

 That was how the rest of the trip was spent. They played a few more rounds of exploding snap(the red-head twins joined for a round before heading off to find their brother), before Harry remembered his beans and they played the guessing game. Harry enjoyed himself thoroughly, despite making the wrong guess and eating the grass flavor instead of the melon.

 Pansy was a little stiff and withdrawn at first, but quickly warmed up to everyone. She wound up being the Exploding Snap Queen and laughed just as much as everyone else at Blaise's attempts to flirt with Luna.

 Blaise was.......Blaise. It seemed [ to Harry at least] that he was determined to flirt with every living creature in his general vicinity.

 Blaise, deciding that Luna wasn't fun to tease (read as giving up), decided to move on to Neville. Poor Neville was quite red by the time a ghostly voice announced their arrival at Hogwarts Station.

 The train slowed to a stop. Harry and the others pushed their way through the crowded corridor and joined the throng of students on the platform.

Harry shivered in the night air and, noticing his friends were also shivering, extended his warming charm to include them. His friends stopped shivering and began chattering about how they would get to Hogwarts. The popular opinion was flying carriages.

 Then a lamp came bobbing over the sea of students and Harry heard an impossibly big voice boom,

" Firs-years! Firs-years over here!"

 Drawing himself up to his full height, Harry squinted in the direction of the voice. He gasped.

 An absolute giant of a man was standing above the throngs of students. His face was almost completely hidden by his wild mane of hair and his big bushy beard. Harry could just make out his eyes, glinting like beetles under his hair.

" C'mon, follow me - anymore firs-years? Mind your step, now! Firs-years follow me!" The man boomed.

" Who is that?" Harry asked Draco in a low voice.

" I don't know. Maybe a servant?" Draco said, looking rather apprehensive (read as terrified) as they followed the giant down a steep narrow path. 

"That's Hagrid." Neville said. He blushed bright red as the attention of their little group zeroed in on him. "My..my grandmother had him over for tea once." He said, stuttering. Seeing the blank looks on his friends faces, he hastened to explain. " After the war, I think he helped fight or something..... Anyway, he's the gamekeeper and...he's....nice?" Neville finished, looking a little lost.

Harry was about to ask what he meant, when-

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec." the man, Hagrid, boomed. " Jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Ooooooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

" No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry, who had quite forgotten his question for Neville, was followed into his boat by Draco, Luna, and Neville.

" Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself," Right then- FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake. Harry wondered why Hagrid shouted so much. 

"  _I mean, its not like anyone is talking or making any noise for that matter."_  

He had a point. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them under the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out  on to rocks and pebbles.

Harry was about to join the crowd when he felt a prickling on the back of his neck. Turning around Harry noticed Hagrid staring at him strangely. Not sure what to do, Harry nodded a greeting and then hastily joined his friends before the giant of a man could react.

The crowd of first-years began going up a passageway in the rock, following Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? Right, then."

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

Harry wondered if it was normal for teachers to not know if all their students were present. What if they actually were missing a person? What then?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry, no. Shhhhh. Stop thinking.   
> Oh, dear. Harry thinks too much.  
> More music will happen soon! I promise?


	6. Sorting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is as promised! The next chapter might take awhile.....but never fear! The muse is here! I'll try and get the next chapter posted soon.   
> Enjoy reading!

The door swung open at once. A tall black-haired witch in emerald green robes stood there. She had a very stern face with sharp eyes framed by spectacles and Harry's first thought was,  _" Have I met her before?"_

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall." said Hagrid.

" Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

 She pulled the door wide, welcoming the first- years into the Entrance Hall.

 The Entrance Hall was huge. It was so big Harry could easily imagine at least two of the Dursley's house fitting inside. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of voices from a doorway to the right. 

The rest of the school must already be there- but Professor McGonagall showed them into a small empty chamber off the hall. 

They crowded in, standing closer together than they would have done, peering about nervously.

" Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

The four  houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Rabenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

 The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while waiting." 

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak ,which was fastened under his left ear, and Luna's flyaway hair.

 Professor McGonagall left the room. The students began to rustle and glance about.

 Harry jumped when he felt hands run through his hair.

" Doesn't it ever lie flat?" Draco grumbled.

 Harry shook his head, wincing as Draco's fingers got caught in a knot.

 They heard a snicker and Draco paused in his valient attempts to conquer Harry's hair ( at least that's how Draco put it). Both he and Harry whirled around just in time to see a boy with curly hair wack another boys arm. The curly-haired boy winked at Harry.

"Us rowdy tops need to stick together." He said, motioning to his curls. Harry smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I'm Dean Thomas." The boy said, holding out his hand. 

Harry shook it warmly when something caused them all to jump.

Several people behind them screamed.

" What the-"

 Turning around, Harry gasped. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking with each other and hardly glancing at the first-years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a little fat monk was saying, 

" Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

" Haven't we given Peeves all the second chances he deserves? He gives is all a bad name and you know, he's not even really a ghost- I say, what are you all doing here?"

 A ghost in a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first-years.

 Nobody answered.

" New students!" said the Friar smiling around at them. "About to be sorted I suppose?" 

A few people nodded mutely.

" Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar." My old house you know."

" Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

 Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

" Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first-years," and follow me."

 The sound of their marching feet set a good tempo, Harry realized. He started sensing a rhythm and itched for his violin. His mind preoccupied with thoughts of music, he hardly noticed Draco's muttering as they were led out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

 The sight of it momentarily distracted Harry's thoughts from his music. Harry had read about of course, but seeing it in person was so different. He was awestruck. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid air over four long tables.These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone a misty silver. The hundreds of staring eyes made Harry shift nervously. Forcing himself not to bring up his wards, Harry looked upwards and saw a velvety black sky dotted with stars.

" It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History._ " Harry heard a girl whisper.

It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all and the Great Hall didn't simply open to the heavens. The stars twinkled and Harry's thoughts once again strayed to his music. His mind occupied, he barely noticed Professor McGonagall silently place a four-legged stool in front of the first-years. A nudge from Draco had Harry looking down in time to see Professor McGonagall place a pointed wizards hat on the stool. It was rather dirty and tattered. He wondered what they were going to do. Maybe pull a rabbit out of it, Harry thought bemusedly.

He noticed everyone staring at the hat, so he did the same. The hat- twitched? Yes it definitely did. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth-and began to sing:

_" Oh, you may not think i'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see_

_For I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top-hats sleek and tall,_

_for I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So put me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave of heart,_

_Their daring, nerve and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands ( though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each four tables then became quite still again.

Harry glanced at Draco to see if he had been filled with dread as Harry had. Draco did seem a bit nervous and was muttering under his breath. Harry looked back to the Sorting Hat and thought about its song. ' There's nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can't see.' Harry wasn't sure that he liked the thought of something poking around his mind.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

" When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." she said. "Abbot, Hannah!"

A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell over her eyes, and sat on the stool. A moments pause-

" Hufflepuff!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right burst into cheers as Hannah stumbled to sit at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"Hufflepuff!" Shouted the hat again and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"Ravenclaw!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

The sorting continued and Harry thought wondered where his friends would end up. He thought back to their discussion on the train.

**FLASHBACK**

" So, what house do you think you'll end up in?" Pansy asked Neville.

" Well, my Grandmother wants me to in Gryffindor like my parents," Neville replied, then looking gloomy added." but I'll probably in Hufflepuff."

Harry and Luna aside, everyone shuddered.

" What about you, Harry?" Pansy said, breaking the gloomy mood Neville's words had inspired.

 Harry shrugged. "I don't know." He said dismissively. "I just want to learn and I don't really mind where I'm placed as long as I can learn."

 Pansy looked at him gobsmacked, as did everyone else(Luna aside, she just looked at him curiously).

" But you must have some sort of preference?" Pansy insisted, not quite able to comprehend this new concept of not caring. 

Harry shook his head." None. A friend once told me that it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, or what house you're sorted into, as long as you don't forget that everyone is human and deserves kindness." Harry quoted. This had been one of Mrs. Figg's favorite things to say and would remind him of it often.

 Pansy and the others(Luna included) shared a thoughtful look. Coming to some sort of silent agreement, Blaise changed the topic of discussion to the school subjects.

**FLASHBACK END**

"Malfoy, Draco!"

 Harry wished Draco luck, vaugley remembering that his friend had wanted to be placed in Slytherin, as Draco walked confidently to the hat and sat on the stool. The hat took awhile to decide, as Draco seemed to be protesting strongly to whatever the hat was saying. Until-

" Ravenclaw!"

 Draco turned pale and even Harry noticed the astonished looks on a few faces. Draco got off the stool and jerkily went to join Luna at the Ravenclaw table amidst subdued applause. His dazed gaze focused on the hat and Harry felt a pang of worry for his friend.

 He wondered if Draco was okay and what he could do to cheer him up. He though about showing him his music sheets for the Moonlight Sonata with violin accompaniment, but wasn't sure if that would be appreciated. Back on the train Draco had avoided any discussions about music like it was taboo. Harry frowned and wondered if it was taboo.

" Potter, Harry!"

" The Harry Potter?"

" Where is he?"

 The hall filled with muttering and people craned their necks, trying to get a glimpse of him.

 Ignoring them Harry made his way over to the stool, desperately blocking the whispers out by thinking of his music. The hat was placed on his head, coming down over his eyes and ears.

" You've got a smart mind there I see, very rational." An unfamiliar voice said, interrupting Harry's train of thought. 

"Who are you?" Harry asked, mildly irritated at having his thoughts interrupted.

" I'm the Sorting Hat, or weren't you listening to my song." The voice replied sounding amused.

" Oh, okay then. Sort away." Harry said, not sure what he was supposed to do.

" Let's see, talent- Yes lots of talent- a thirst to learn. You have an interesting outlook on a lot of things don't you?- Yes, as rare as that is, it should be Slytherin- However I believe you will be better off in-"

" Ravenclaw!" the hat shouted.

 Harry thanked the hat then went to take his place at the Ravenclaw table in between Draco and Luna. A few students got up to shake hands with him as the crowd roared with the cheers of the students.

 Harry smiled at Pansy who was sitting at the Slytherin table. She smiled back, mouthing congratulations at him. He looked around and spotted Neville sitting at the Gryffindor table, engrossed in a discussion with Dean Thomas.

 There weren't many people left to be sorted now. Harry watched as Sulky Red-head was sorted into Gryffindor and felt a twinge of sympathy for Neville, as he was stuck with Red. He clapped as Blaise was sorted into Slytherin. He was one of the few, outside of Slytherin, who did. He got a few strange looks from some people, but he didn't care.

 The sorting finished, Professor Dumbledore stood up and Harry couldn't help but feel a spark of resentment towards the man that had left him to the Dursleys.

" Welcome!" Professor Dumbledore began." Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

 Thank you!" 

He sat down with a flourish and the whole hall burst into thunderous applause. Harry clapped with everyone else, but privately wondered what on earth the odd headmaster meant.

 Beginning to serve himself some mashed potatoes, Harry glanced up at the teachers table curiously. His eyes widened as his gaze landed on the pale man from the Leaky Cauldron. The man was wearing his ridiculous turban and talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. Harry squinted at the turban, when-

" Ouch!"

 The hot pain came back.

" Are you okay?" Terry Boot asked, looking at Harry worriedly. Draco looked up from his conversation with Luna. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry said, waving a hand dismissively. "I wonder who that teacher with the turban is." Harry said to change the subject.

 Draco looked up at the teachers table and spotted who Harry was talking about.

" That's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrel." He said, then smirked." He's talking to Professor Snape, the potions master." Draco supplied seeing the blank looks on Harry and Terry's faces.

" Oh, I heard that he applies for the position of DADA Professor every year." Terry said looking at the potions master with curiosity.

"'Yeah, I don't know why he doesn't get it. He's great at the subject." Draco said in a slightly defensive tone.

" Maybe it's easier to find a DADA professor than a Potions master." Harry said placidly, defusing the upcoming argument.

" Huh, maybe that's it." Draco said, turning the new thought over in his head.

 A comfortable silence preveild over the small group as they ate.

" So, what subject to you all think will be the most interesting?" Terry asked.

 So began a long debate over what the best class would be. It continued until all the food vanished and Professor Dumbledore stood up again. The Hall fell silent.

" Ahem-just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you all. 

First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.

 Here Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasly twins.

" I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used in between classes and in the corridors. 

Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

 And finally, I must tell you that his year, the third-floor corridor is off limits to anyone who does not wish to die a painful death."

 At these words Harry heard an interested noise come from someone. Looking up the table he noticed an older, extremely depressed looking student straighten up and look at the Professor with a slightly less depressed look in his eyes.

"And now,'before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Professor Dumbledore. 

Harry, whose attention was still on the older student, noticed that he had slumped down again and looked as if just the prospect of music was enough to make him want to drown.

 This is exactly what the older student was thinking as he sipped his coffee from his hip flask.

 Professor Dumbledore flicked his wand as if he was trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself into words.

" Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Professore Dumbledore," and off we go!"

 And the school bellowed:

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts------_

Harry and Draco looked to each other in horror at the mismatched tunes and the off-key crooning of the hundreds of students. Fighting the urge to cover their ears, they quietly mumbled along with everyone else.

 Everybody finished the song at different times, the depressed senior was one of the first to finish. At last only the Weasly twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Professor Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, was one of those who clapped the loudest. Harry and Draco clapped politely while sharing grim looks.

" Ah, music," Professor Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all that we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

 Harry and the other first-year Ravenclaws followed a prefect, who introduced herself as Penelope Clearwater, out of the Great Hall and towards the west wing of the castle. They followed her through countless secret passageways hidden behind portraits, stone slabs, and wooden panels, and up a couple flights of stairs. Until they began to climb one which wound tightly and seemed to go on forever. The stair case wound on and on until it opened out to a oak door with an eagle door-knocker.

 Turning around to address the first-years Penelope explained how to get in. It was simple really. All one had to do as knock three times and answer a riddle. The catch was that if ones answer was incorrect they would have to wait for another to come along and get it right

 Penelope knocked on the door three times and the eagle door-knocker's beak clicked out:

 _" The_  more _you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?"_

" Footsteps." Penelope answered.

 _" Correct."_ the eagle door-knocked replied.

 The door opened up to reveal a large room. The floor was littered with an assortment of desks, chairs and beanbags. Hanging from the ceiling, if you could call it a ceiling as it was under the same enchantment as the one in the Great Hall, were blue hammocks. The walls were lined with glass bookshelves and through the gaps between the books one could see that the walls were under the same enchantment as the ceiling.

" It's amazing isn't it." Penelope remarked, seeing the amazed looks on the first-years' faces. " Now here are the ground rules." She said, suddenly serious.

" 1. No boys allowed in the girls dormitory.

  2. No going out on the roof.

  3. No scribbling in the common room books.

 Now, if you have any problems please come directly to a prefect or a teacher. Our Head of House is Professor Flitwick. 

As Ravenclaws we value knowledge above all else and if you wish to continue or begin Muggle studies there are optional classes on Thursdays and Fridays. These will be overseen by older students, but will mainly rely on self studying. 

Any questions?"

 A few people shook their heads.

" Alright then." Penelope said looking satisfied with her speech. 

"The dormitories are down this staircase." Penelope said, leading them down yet another staircase on the right hand side of the door. They walked down eight flights, at the end of each flight was a small room with a few desks, chairs and bookshelves, until reaching the last floor.

"During your first year at Hogwarts you'll all be staying on this floor. This room here is for quiet study away from the noise of the common room or if your in a hurry to write a letter." Penelope explained motioning around her. "The girls are on the left and the boys on the right."

 Saying goodnight, Penelope wished them all the best with their first year at Hogwarts.

 Harry and Draco said goodnight to Luna then followed the other boys to their dormitories.

 There were five round beds with bookshelves built into the headrest which ran around the bed leaving a gap at the end for one to get in and out of them. Pulled back were dark blue hangings that matched the bedclothes.

" Bags I the one closest to the door!" said Michael, a short, energetic brunette, as he pounced on one of the beds.

A short scuffle ensued over the remaining beds which ended with Draco perched victorious on the bed closest the slit, which served as a window, holding a pillow protectivly, smirking as the others kept their distance as they had each already been a the recieving end of his shots.

 Michael had joined in the pillow fight, bravely defending his claimed land(According to his narrative). He was currently in the process of unpacking a variety of tools. A hammer a screwdriver and many others that Harry was unfamiliar with. Already placed on his bookshelf were his schoolbooks, a couple of thick books that weren't on the booklist, and a few thick notebooks.

 Anthony Goldstein, a tall, quiet boy had bagged the bed next to Michael and was just putting a sketch on his bookshelf next to his schoolbooks then proceeded to get changed into his nightclothes.

 Harry froze and his stomach dropped. He had never changed in front of anyone except Mrs. Figg before and he knew from her reaction that his scars were bad. Plus he still had a few dark purple bruises from Dudley's parting blows.

 Putting the rest of his books on his shelf, Harry fretted about how he could conceal his appearance.

" Where did you get that?!" A delighted cry came from behind him. 

Startled, Harry whirled around to be met by a very excited Michael. Harry looked down at the book in question. It was the book on electrical wiring he had gotten from Mr. Flamel's bookshop for his light.

" Umm, I got it from a bookshop near where I live." Harry replied, handing the book over to a dazed Michael.

" No way! It must have cost a mint." Michael said, turning the book over almost reverently.

" No, it only cost around two pounds." Harry replied, getting more confused by the minute. "What's so special about it?"

" It's the first edition!" Michael explained his expression aghast. "Didn't you know?"

 Harry shook his head. "I had no idea. I only got it so I could fix my light." He winced and hoped Michael wouldn't ask him why he was fixing his own light.

" You can borrow it if you want." Harry said as Michael was still staring at the book as if it held the secrets to the universe.

 Michael nodded silently as he made his way to his bed, eyes still glued to the book, with the air of someone whose read while walking a lot.

 Anthony and Terry had already changed and called out a goodnight as they drew their hangings shut. Draco followed soon after and Michael closed his hangings with a mumbled goodnight as he stumbled into his bed, still reading.

 Harry quickly got changed muffling a hiss of pain as he brushed a bruise on his chest. Calling out his own goodnight, Harry laid down and soon fell asleep.

                       .      .        .       .       .     .

 Draco had been nearly giddy with happiness since meeting that boy in Madam Malkins and had talked about him with Severus as often as he could. 

It was during one of these talks that Draco began to describe the boy. After mentioning his hair and eye coler, Severus had gone strangely pale.

 Severus then explained that the boy Draco was talking about was most likely Harry Potter.

 Surprisingly, Draco feelings didn't change much upon the news. He shrugged and said that he didn't really care who the boy was as long as he could talk music with someone.

 When it came time to board the train, his plans to go and find Harry were hampered when Crabbe and Goyle showed up. They insisted on tailing him wherever he went like some sort of bodyguards. As he had never been comfortable with the two and had only ever socialized with them on his fathers' orders, Draco felt no guilt in ditching them and making a full sprint to the end of the train.

 He ducked into the compartment as he saw Crabbe and Goyle approaching and was pleasantly surprised to find it occupied by Harry. There were three other Draco recognized as people his father would disown him for socializing with, but shrugged it off as he couldn't care two knuts what his father thought.

 He asked to come in and Harry looked like he was going to say yes when- 

" No, Harry!"

 The red-head in the corner, Draco recognized as a Weasly, began protesting to not only Draco's intrusion, but the others' as well.

 He began to second doubt whether or not Harry actually thought him good company, when- Harry defended him? Not only that, but he had named Draco as one of his friends. The religious flooded through his body and, after the Weasly had run out,   offered to play Exploding Snap to get everybody's mind off what the angry Weasly had said.

 He had gotten a bit nervous when Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zambini had shown up, as he only knew them by blood status. His mother had been most adamant that he should refrain from any embarrassing behavior as she was friends with their parents.

 To his relief they didn't seem upset at his choice in compartment mates, although Pansy was a bit snobby at first, and soon everyone was talking like old friends.

 Arriving at Hogwarts, Draco felt excited. His excitement was dampened a bit when he saw Hagrid. He didn't remember much about the times when You-Know-Who was still in power, but he did remember the giants. He shuddered at the recollection and Nevilles' introduction did nothing to allay his fears. He's nice? Why was that a question? Is his niceness dubious? Did he tend to leer at you and lick his chops?

 Thoughts like these plagued him throughout the boat ride, he barely glanced at the castle as that would mean catching a glimpse of Hagrid.

 At last they were handed over to Professor McGonagall. Severus had spoken highly of her and he looked forward to learning from her. After a welcoming speech( read as lecture) she left them with a warning to tidy themselves up.

 Draco sniffed derisively. He was always neat and had spent a decent amount of time making sure his appearance was flawless. He turned to look at Harry and for the first time noticed just how bad his hair was. Now that is a health hazard. How are his fingers not permenatly stuck in his hair. He began to try and smooth it down, only for it to spring back up again.

 He heard a snicker and whirled around to see a joy whack another boys' arm. Harry and the boy seemed to hit it off, seemingly bonding over their mutual 'rowdy tops'.

 Draco shook his head and was about to join in when he noticed the ghosts streaming in. He smirked in amusement as several people screamed.

" Oh, they have a lot of nargles following them." Luna said airily. 

Nargles? What are nargles? The ghosts were ushered out by Professor McGonagall and they followed her, in single file, to the Great Hall. 

Draco knew the way already, having been here before with his father, but the sight always took his breath away. His favorite bit was the ceiling, he felt as if he could stare at it all night.

 His mind was brought back down to earth as Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of them. He nudged Harry, who was still staring at the ceiling, for the Sorting Hat was about to begin his song.

 During the song, Draco's feelings plummeted as the realization that he was to be sorted soon hit him. He began to analyze himself in hopes that if he knew what house he was _likely_  to be sorted in, it wouldn't be as much of a shock when he was sorted into one.

" Malfoy, Draco!"

 Draco got up, barely hearing Harry's whispered ' Good Luck!', and made his way over to the stool.

" Hmmm, a Malfoy eh? Should be simple, really. Since all Malfoys so far have been Slytherins-but you're different aren't you?

 Yes, you've shown yourself to be quite brave. Enduring things for the sake of knowledge-hmmmm- With that amount of bravery I should place you in Gryffindor-"

 Here Draco protested. It wasn't that he wanted to be placed in Slytherin, but being placed in Gryffindor would make his summers far worse than they already were.

" Not Gryffindor, eh? Well then it had better be-

 Ravenclaw!"

 Draco heard the hat shout it out to the whole hall and he blinked. He got up and, giving the hat back to Professor McGonagall, joined Luna at the Ravenclaw table. He stared at the hat, not quite believing that **that**  just happened. His mind for the first time ever went blank.

 "Ravenclaw!"

 Draco snapped out of it when Harry came to sit next to him. He shook his head. Never mind that his father was probably going to disown him, he was at Hogwarts with his friends and he was going to enjoy himself. He recalled what Harry had said on the train;

" It doesn't matter who you are, where you're from,  or what house you're sorted into, everyone's human and deserves kindness."

 Draco smiled. He liked the sound of that. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feed the muse! Comments and kudos appreciated!  
> If anyone is interested in being my beta let me know!


	7. Explosions. So many explosions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the update has taken so long. I've been struggling with writing this chapter plus Real Life Stuff.  
> I think I'll be doing monthly updates, although I might be able to do two updates a month....I wouldnt count on it too much.  
> I swear that this work will not be abandoned. I love it too much.  
> Anyway I've rewritten this chapter so many times and I'm still not satisfied with it so I hope you enjoy it and look forward to your comments and kudos.

* * *

"I've got it!!" 

Harry woke up with a start. He poked his head out of his bed curtains just in time to see Michael disappear down the stairs leading to the common room.

 Retreating back to the warm comforts of his bed, Harry tried to go back to sleep. 

"BOOM!"

 Harry sat bolt upright. 

"What the hell was that?!" A sleepy Draco groused from his bed.

" It sounded like it came from the common room." An equally sleepy looking Terry said.

" Michael was in there!" Harry exclaimed before leaping out of bed and hastening to the common room, quickly followed by the rest of his dorm mates.

 The common room was filled with a black choking smoke and an ominous humming was coming somewhere in the room.

 Quickly banishing the smoke, Harry made his way over to the prone form of a soot covered Michael. 

"Never mind. I don't got it." Michael moaned as Harry anxiously checked him for injuries before promptly passing out. 

 Surprisingly Anthony came forward and carefully picked up the unconscious Michael. The other boys watched as Anthony, silently, made his way over to the staircase and with a mumbled "Hospital Wing." began the log trek up the stairs.

 Draco looked from the staircase to the mangled mass of wires one one of the tables, to Harry.

" You don't think this will happen again do you?" he asked, looking at the other boys hopefully.

Harry thought back to the massive amount of thick notebooks Michael had unpacked the night before.

"I think we should prepare for the worst." He said slowly.

 The young Ravenclaws silently stared at the mess of wires.

" What was he trying to do?" Terry asked, still staring at the wires.

Harry picked up a notebook lying on the ground.

" I think he was trying to make a magical lamp."

The wires spluttered and began to move.

Later the boys would deny the screaming and overall panicking that resulted in an inexplicably sentient mass of wires hiding under Michael's bed. 

                                                                                                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Harry groaned as he sat next to Draco for his breakfast.

" You've got soot on your nose." the blonde mumbled into his coffee.

Harry glared at him then proceeded to pile his plate with food. This was the third time this week that Michael had blown up the common room and Harry was pretty sure that no one could perform repairing and cleaning charms better than the first-year Ravenclaws. Which didn't explain why Harry had to be the one to clean all the soot off of the books. Although, he had a sneaky suspicion that they had figured out who had lent him the book that gave their resident mad scientist his brilliant( read: terrifying) ideas.

A heavy thump startled Harry out of his thoughts.

" Hullo, Anthony." An annoyingly cheerful Terry said.

He got a grunt in reply.

"So how is our dear explosions connoisseur?" He continued, unperturbed by the surly brunette's unenthusiastic response.

Another grunt.

" Why don't you just let Harry levitate him?" Draco asked, finally coming up from his cup of coffee. " I'm sure Harry can manage to do it without giving him a concussion." he said, giving Harry a side-long glance with a smirk.

Harry groaned. At least he knew who told everyone about the book.

Anthony leveled an unimpressed look at Draco. " After what happened in charms? I can live with the workout."

Harry blushed. He really had hoped that everyone had forgotten about that.

  **FLASHBACK**

" Mr. Potter."

Draco nudged Harry's elbow, causing him to accidentally blot out that beginning of a new piece that had been running around in his head. He glared at Draco baelfully, who just rolled his eyes and nodded to the disapproving charms Professor.

" Yes, Professor?"

" Since you have already taken down the notes, why don't you give it a whirl?"

" Okay, Professor." Harry said fetching his wand from his bag.

" _Wingardium Leviosa._ "

Harry gritted his teeth as the uncomfortable feeling of his wand pulling and forcing his magic to the surface.

**Whoosh.**

..........

"Umm, you have a great handle on your wand movements and incantation.  Although, perhaps use a little less next strength next time."　 Professor Flitwick said looking about at the mass of floating feathers with something akin to awe and dismay from his position on the ceiling.

And this is why he never uses his wand.

**FLASHBACK END**

After that the teachers tended to ignore him so long as he got all the work done before working on other things. All teacher that is except Professor Snape. Not that he ever paid anything other than the utmost attention in potions and herbology. Those being the two subjects that required hands-on experience.

" What class do we have first thing?" Harry asked in an attempt to divert the conversation to more non-blush causing topic.

" Double Transfiguration." Draco supplied, glancing at his schedule while giving Harry a side-long glance that let Harry know he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Oh, that sounds like it will be interesting." Harry said, already wondering what uses the information could provide.

"Yeah, I heard that the Professor is an animageous ." Draco said getting to his feet.

" Hold on a minute!" Terry exclaimed. " The mail hasn't even arrived yet." The others were always begging for the Harry and Draco to wait for them as they were the only first-years able to make their way to class without getting lost.

" Yeah, Mrs. Figg said that she would write to me today, so I'm going to wait here for a bit." Harry said, giving Draco an apologetic look. He had noticed that Darco had been avoiding the Great Hall when the owls arrived with the mail. Usually Harry joined him as no one ,except for Mrs. Figg, would really send him anything.

Draco grimaced, but sat down all the same.

" Mrs. Figg?" Terry asked, breaking the companionable silence that had fallen over the small group.

"She was my nanny when I was younger and we keep in touch."  Harry replied. Mrs. Figg had told him that musical instruments weren't well known or that popular and that it would be wise to refrain to talk about it too much. She had also made him promise that he wouldn't tell anyone that she was the one who had taught him. She wouldn't tell him why, but it seemed important to her so Harry had agreed.

"Oh, here comes the mail!" Padma announced, finally making her way to the Great Hall. How she managed to sleep through Michael's explosions was one of the world's greatest mysteries.

"Huh, where's Luna?" Draco asked, looking over Padma's shoulder as if the strange blonde would appear out of thin air. Harry wouldn't put it past her.

"I don't know. Her bed was empty when I got up." Padma said sitting down and collecting her mail from a bunny eared owl.

Draco snickered. " Padma, everyone's bed is empty when you get up."

That remark earned him a glare and a smack on the shoulder while the rest of the table erupted in snickers.

A small burrow owl landed in front of Harry and dropped a small envelope in front of him. Smiling, Harry almost missed Draco's reaction to the massive envelope that his eagle owl brought him.

His friend simultaneously went pale and flushed.

"Everything okay, Draco?" Harry asked concerned for his friend. He found this to be a more and more common feeling he got when around the blond. He hadn't missed the way the others would avoid Draco, although they seemed to be warming up to him. He wondered if this behavior had anything to do with Draco's love of music. 

" Hmm? Yeah, just my mum being embarrassing." Draco said unconvincingly.

Harry pocketed his letter and got up, dragging his friend up with him. " Come along. Let's go find Luna." he said, practically dragging Draco out if the Great Hall, ignoring the pleas of his classmates to wait up.

"Where do you think Luna went off to?" Harry asked casually as he walked down the hall toward the Transfiguration classroom, his hand gripping Draco's wrist firmly.

"You're not going to ask?" Draco asked, a look of bewilderment crossing his face.

Harry shrugged. " If you don't want to tell me then you don't have to. I'll be more than happy to listen to you if you want though."

Draco stared at his friend in silence. Their feet bringing them nearer and nearer to the classroom. He mentally compared Harry to the others in his life. He was quite certain that no one else he knew would have reacted like this. Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't have noticed something was off to begin with much less actually care to ask him about it. His mother would just give him a concerned look and ask him gently what was wrong, though she never pressed the issue if he pushed her away. Pansy would nag him for weeks. Who was he kidding. Pansy would nag him for years before sneaking into his room and holding him and wand point until he gave her the letter. Out of all the people he knew only Blaise came close to Harry's response. Blaise would give him a look that said he understood. But it was still different. Looking from the back of Harry's head to the letter which he still had clutched in his hand, he stopped.

" It's transfer forms for Drumstrang."

Harry looked back at him.

Draco looked at the ground, not wanting to meet his friend's gaze.

" I don't want to go."

" So don't."

Draco's head shot up. Silver eyes finding green.

"You don't understand. My father expects me to fill these out and leave Hogwarts."

Harry cocked his head to the side.

" If you don't want to go then I don't see how he is in a position to make you."

" He could disown me."

"Would he?"

" Mother would never allow it."

"Does your mother want you to go to Drumstrang?"

"No, she refused to let father enroll me earlier this year."

"So there. You don't want to go, your mother doesn't want you to go, and your father can't exactly force you to fill out these forms so he will just have to deal."

Draco gaped at him. No, no one quite like Harry. Looking back at the letter he dropped it on the floor.

"Incendo."

The two boys watched the flames eat the letter. Draco risked a side-long glance at Harry. His friend had a far off look in his eyes, the one he got when he was writing in his notebook. Not for the first time did Draco wish that it wasn't charmed so that no one but Harry could see what was written. Harry's hands inched towards his book bag.

" Oh, no you don't." Draco said slapping Harry's hands. " If you start writing in that then you won't pay any attention in class and I am not going to let you copy off my notes this time."

Harry gave Draco a wounded look. " I'm not that bad." He defended, his hands reaching for his bag again. Draco slapped them away.

" Harry. I swear to Merlin that if you don't restrain yourself I will close your bag with a Sticking Charm."

Harry pursed his lips into a pout. " Fine. After class then."

Draco rolled his eyes, he seriously doubted that Harry could last till the end of class.

" Lets go see if Luna is already there." Draco said, shoving his hands in his pocket and walking down the hallway.

                                                                  ..........................................................................................................................

Harry looked up from where he had been reading his potions textbook. After his first class with Professor Snape, Harry decided that it was absolutely necessary to study extra hard for his potions work. It's not that he felt like the professor didn't like him. No, it was more like the professor expected more of him. Like every wrong answer was a personal insult. Harry couldn't quite understand it. But then, Harry couldn't understand a good many things about people. A perfect example would be now for instance. Draco just got another letter and has stormed out of the room. Harry looked about himself hopelessly. Should he go after him? He seemed upset. Should he cheer him up? That seems like a good idea. Now, what would cheer Draco up? Harry thought back to all the the instances in which Draco smiled. Music. He had seemed genuinely happy in Madam Malkin's.

Summoning his violin and notebook, Harry slipped out of the common room and, after a quick Point Me, followed the pull of his magic to Draco.

                                                                               &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

 Draco stormed out of the common room the words from his father's letter playing over and over in his mind.

" _Disgrace! He calls **me** a disgrace!" _ Draco fumed. His thoughts thrashing around his mind angrily. He didn't want to go to Drumstrang and Harry was right. His father couldn't force him to go. So what if he was a Ravenclaw. He certainly didn't care if his father was displeased. Tears pricked the back of his eyelids. Slowing down, Draco slid against a wall into a sitting position. Pulling his knees up to his chest he began to sob. As much as he tried to deny it, his father's words had upset him. That and the subtle threat of not being allowed to see Snape during summer break, which meant no piano. He wasn't sure he could live without it. Music was him, without it he didn't know who he was. As the sobs wracked his body he wished for his piano. Nothing comforted him like music did.

                                                                          &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Harry was distraught. He had followed Draco only to find the blonde hunched over in the hallway sobbing. Unsure of what to do, because damn it he wasn't good at this, Harry decided to do the only thing he could think of. He began to play his violin. He drew the bow lovingly across the strings and poured his feelings into it, trying to express his support and comfort his friend as his words failed him.

Draco had jumped at the first note before his eyes, red with crying, found Harry. He watched in amazement as Harry lost himself to his music. His fingers moved across the strings with a gentle grace as the bow flew across the strings. Finding Harry's eyes his breath was robbed from him as he saw the passion blazing in the emerald green eyes, glowing like jewels. For the first time Draco didn't feel so alone. Yes, for the first time he found someone whose passion matched his own. He relaxed and let the music envelope him, letting his worries and sorrow melt away as he lost himself to the music.

 Unbeknownst to the two boys a tall figure was lurking farther down the corridor. Professor Snape watched in fascination as Harry played his violin, a stirring of.....something moved his heart. Looking at the expression on Draco's face Snape made a decision and discreetly made his way back to his quarters.

Harry finally reached the end of the song and glanced at Draco. Draco's eyes were still red and there were tear tracks running down his cheeks, but he was smiling at Harry.

" Are you okay?" Harry asked as that seemed like the proper thing to do.

"Yea." Draco said, his fathers words returning to the forefront of his mind. He looked at Harry and studied him carefully. Harry was looking at him, concern practically oozing from his body. Taking a deep breath Draco motioned for Harry to sit next to him. Once Harry had settled next to him, Draco focused his gaze on the ground.

" My father isn't happy." Draco began then chuckled darkly, " That's the understatement of the year. My father is furious that I destroyed the transfer contract. He's even more furious that I got sorted into Ravenclaw. Says that I am a disgrace to the Malfoy name and wonders why he doesn't just have another child that wouldn't be a disgrace. He suggested that I refrain from going to see Severus." Taking a deep breath Draco turned to look Harry in the eyes. " Severus taught me the piano." Faltering, Draco looked back to the ground. " I don't think I can survive without my music. It's a part of me. Just being here is hard because all I want to do is bury myself in my music."

Harry looked at Draco and searched for the words to comfort his friend. Coming up empty Harry pulled Draco into a hug. He hoped that his hugs would have the same effect that Mrs. Figg's did. Judging by the way Draco melted in his arms he guessed that he did okay.

" Maybe we can find a way to get a piano into the school." Harry said softly.

"How?" Draco asked his voice muffled.

" Well, maybe we can find one in London and shrink it to pocket size so that we can get it into the school or maybe we can try and transfigure one." Harry said, the cogs turning in his head as he thought of all the possibilities.

" You don't have to worry." Draco said, reluctantly pulling away from Harry's arms.

" Music is a part of you. Just as it's a part of Harry and a part of me." Luna's light, musical voice said from behind them.

Looking up they saw Luna standing in the middle of the hallway, the moonlight shining through the nearby window giving her an ethereal glow making her look like the fairy they half-believed her to be.

"You enjoy music too?" Draco asked looking hopeful. It was almost too good to be true that both of his friends, which were fast becoming his closest friends, shared his passion.

Luna nodded joining them where they were sitting. "My Mother used to sing all around the house. I don't remember a time she wasn't singing." She paused, then said softly, " My mother died in a potion accident. I was in the room when it happned. Since then my father has never been the same. I took to singing as it helped me be closer to my mother and I haven't stopped since."

Harry and Draco looked at the small girl somewhat astonished as this was the longest they had ever heard the usually quiet girl speak. Draco pulled her into a hug , after deciding that he didn't give a damn about what was proper.

Harry sifted uneasily. He never thought that he would feel this deeply for anyone except Mrs. Figgs and was rather shocked at how fast they had wormed their way so deeply into his life. Taking a deep breath Harry decided to tell them an edited version of his life, much like he suspected they had done.

" I lived with my muggle relatives. But I was raised by my neighbor Mrs. Figgs. The muggles would often leave me with her whenever they couldn't be bothered with me. When I was seven I discovered her violin and she offered to teach me. Since then I haven't been without my violin. Just as Luna said, music is a part of me and I damn well am not just going to sit by and let you suffer when I don't have to."

Luna nodded solemnly. " The wrackspurts won't cloud you if you stay true to your passion."

The boys rolled their eyes good naturally. Which was when Harry noticed that Luna wasn't wearing shoes.

"Umm, Luna?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Where are your shoes?"

Luna shrugged. " The others seem to enjoy taking them."

Anger flashed in Draco's eyes. " That's not right! They shouldn't take your things. I'll go talk to them."

Luna just smiled a gentle smile that made you feel as if you just said something foolish. " It's no bother. They always come back to me."

Harry and Draco looked at each other and shook their heads. It was just so Luna to not be bothered with people taking her things. Harry frowned remembering how Luna had been missing for the majority of the day. Draco seemed to have remembered too as he proceeded to ask Luna about where she was and her answer made Harry see red.

" Some of the older students locked me in a cupboard."

It was Harry's turn to stand up his magic whipping around him as he thought of all the ways to avenge the wrongs they had done to his friend. A calming hand on his shoulder made him look back to Luna. She smiled again.

"The others don't mean any harm. They are simply curious."

"But,"

A gentle look from Luna was enough to halt his thoughts. With a sigh Harry grudgingly agreed to not do anything drastic. Yet.

A companionable silence fell over the trio before the sound of footsteps jolted them into action and they hurried back to their common room.

                                                                    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

**BOOOM!!!**

Groaning Harry rolled out of bed and made his way down to the common room. The sight that met his eyes made his heart sink. Because, no. No, no, no. There's two of them!

Blown to one side of the room Michael was looking at the smouldering remains of a cauldron in fascination and across the room a tall Gryffindor, Seamus or something, looked from what was left of the cauldron that had the remains of some potion spilling out and eating into the table to Michael.

"Wicked." Seamus and Michael said at the same time before scrambling back to the table and while Michael frantically began taking notes Seamus cleaned up the potion.

" Heya, Harry." A tired voice came from the corner.

" Neville?" Harry exclaimed, law dropping.

Neville gave a weak wave.

" That's it." Harry said, shaking his head. Turning around to the other two boys. " The charms to protect the books and fix the room are listed on the board." Then turning back to Neville, " Try and keep them from blowing stuff up too much." Neville nodded numbly. Harry gave him an encouraging smile then headed back to his room.

"What was it this time?" A sleepy Draco grumbled from the depths of Harry's bed.

" A potion." Harry said, wondering why Draco was in his bed.

" He's still conscious." Harry said to Anthony who was getting out of his bed. Anthony just shrugged and continued down to the common room.

" Umm. Draco?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Why are you in my bed?"

"It's comfortable."

"Oh."

........

"Soo, there's three of them."

"Three of who?"

**BOOM!**

.........

"Harry?"

"Yes, Draco?"

"We're doomed aren't we?"

"Probably."

Harry climbed back into his bed and snuggled up to Draco. It was a weekend and he could afford to sleep in. Feeling content, Harry slowly began to drift off. Just before falling asleep, Harry mumbled as he heard another explosion;

" I am going to kill whoever introduced those three to each other."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo. I'm going to do a short chapter next that will describe the meeting of the Spontaneous Combustion Trio.  
> Also, I want to point out that a lot of characters might be a little ooc. Like Snape, Draco, and Luna for instance. Snape is ooc for a reason that I will share with you all later on, but there is a reason! Draco is ooc because he, like Harry, doesn't really care for anything other than his music. Hence, he doesn't hold with his fathers beliefs as in this fic muggles created most musical instruments. Luna is ooc because she is a really difficult character to write and try as I might to keep her in character, I don't think that I'm succeeding.
> 
> A brief explanation for why music isn't so popular is because most family's believe it to be barbaric. As it was invented by muggles. Those that see past those beliefs have to get a special license to study music and own an instrument. The reasoning for that being that many wizards have been known to cast spells on instrument as a form of muggle baiting. Mrs. Figgs was able to avoid that because she is a squib and since she can't perform magic she can't bewitch the instruments. Snape never invites people to his house and as his father was a muggle he could just claim his piano as a family heirloom to have it registered. Harry was able to get his violin because Mrs. Figgs managed to convince Ollivander to make one on the sly. Which is why she asked that Harry not talk about music to anyone.   
> If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.  
> I hope that you enjoyed!  
> I live on kudos and comments. Feed the muse!


	8. Spontanoeus Combustion Trio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be short.  
> I hope you'll like this. It's chapters like this that help my writers block.  
> And I honestly really like the idea of these three blowing stuff up together.  
> Enjoy!

The hissing of the spilled potion filled the classroom as the surrounding students hastily stood on their stools so as not to get touched by the liquid.

" Idiot, boy!" Professor Snape snarled grabbing a whimpering Neville whose skin was sporting rather unflattering boils.

"I suppose you added the porcupine quills before removing the cauldron from the flame."

Banishing the remains Snape barked to Neville's partner to take him to the Hospital Wing.

" Miss Granger. Why didn't you correct Mr. Longbottum? Thought that it would make you look better hmm?" Hermione opened her mouth angrily, but was cut off by the irate Potions teacher. " Ten points from Gryffindor."

Meanwhile, on the way to the hospital wing.

" You okay, Neville?" Seamus asked concerned, but with a strange gleam in his eye.

" Yeah, the boils are already fading." Neville said, gingerly feeling his face.

" Great. 'Cause that was bloody brilliant!" Seamus said, his entire face lighting up.

"Really?" Neville said looking at the tall Irish boy in disbelief.

" Yeah! I mean, if something had caught fire it might have been cooler, but the acid was pretty cool too." Seamus said.

Neville opened his mouth to protest when Seamus made him stop.

"What?"

Seamus pointed to an older Ravenclaw student, who was obviously camped out in front of a door. The boy was rather short with a large head. He was sitting facing the door and was staring intensely at it as he sipped coffee from a mug.

The two boys were about to ask what he was doing, when they suddenly came to the conclusion that this was the forbidden corridor. They heard the unmistakable shuffle of Filch and ducked behind a statue.

" Marvin? What are you doing here? This hallway's forbidden to students." Filch said and was it just Seamus's imagination or did it sound less nasty than usual.

" No." The older student, Marvin, said in a voice dripping with depression. " It's only forbidden for those who do not wish to die a painful death."

Filch was stumped.

"A-and do you?"

"I don't care either way."

"Ah, why don't you leave off planning your death for a bit and go to charms?"

" Why should I? I already know everything."

" Well, the Professor is insisting."

Marvin sighed and carefully got up making sure his coffee didn't spill. As he and Filch walked off the two boys heard Marvin mutter;

" Brain the size of a planet and they want me to summon pillows."

As the footsteps faded away the boys let out a sigh of relief.

"That was odd." Seamus said.

Neville nodded numbly. They made their way to the Hospital Wing in relative silence.

" Do you think he'll be okay?" Neville asked once they reached the Hospital Wing's door.

Seamus shrugged. " I hope so."

The door creaked open and a small dirty blonde sporting ravenclaw colors and a bandage around his head came out.

"Hello! Who are you?" Michael said.

The two Gryffindors looked at each other.

" I'm Seamus and this is Neville." Seamus said.

" I'm Michael and welcome to my domain. What happened to you?" the boy said.

" I blew up a cauldron in potions." Neville answered ignoring the domain comment and getting rather irritated. All he wanted to do was get rid of these boils and take a nice nap before herbology.

Michael's eyes lit up. " Really! I blew up a radio this morning." He then looked slightly downcast. " I was trying to figure out how to make it work with magic, but instead.." He mimed an explosion with wide eyes," boom."

Seamus looked like Christmas had come early. 

" Awesome!"

"You think so?" Michael said looking at the tall Gryffindor in excitement.

" I bloody well do!" Seamus exclaimed.

 **"Mr. Corner!!"** A voice boomed from inside.

Michael winced. " Gotta go!" He said racing down the hallway. " Meet me at the Great Hall tonight after dinner!" He called over his shoulder before he turned a corner.

" Will do!" Seamus called back before herding Neville into the Hospital Wing.

As Seamus chattered away to Neville as Madam Pomfery tended to his boils it became apparent that he expected Neville to be joining him in his meeting with the rather mad ravenclaw. Neville sighed and wondered if this was what friendship was like.


	9. No way. Is that a troll?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, due to how fast I got this chapter done there might be a second update coming soon.  
> Also sorry about how short it is. I'll try to make up for it in the next update.  
> Enjoy!

The weeks flew by in a blur of research on transfiguration and musical licenses. Both proved to be rather useless. Magical musical licenses are practically impossible for high ranking, of age, wizards to acquire, much less three underage preteens. As for transfiguring a piano, well, it was easier said then done. An abandoned class room in a third floor corridor( which housed a giant three headed dog, which turned out to be a music fan so it was...okay?) was full of botched attempts. The three of them were getting rather frustrated with their lack of progress.

Glaring at his notes on their latest attempt and what he deduced had gone wrong with it, Harry packed up his charms work and made his way out of the classroom followed shortly by Draco and Luna. This had become a common sight since that night in the corridor. The two boys were practically attached at the hip and their protectiveness over Luna was a terrifying force that was not to be messed with. A fact several fellow ravenclaws found out first hand when they had attempted to lock her into a cupboard. They wouldn't speak of what had happened, but they were very skittish around the trio and just the mention of cupboards would make them burst into tears for a week.

" Harry, wait up!" Draco yelled over the crowd. Harry obligingly paused in his fast pace, his mind still racing through all the possible theories that could help them, making a mental list of the books they would need. Draco and Luna had almost reached him when a tall red-head shoved Luna causing her to collide with Draco, unbalancing him making them both fall to the ground.

"Watch where you're going, Loony." Red said, sneering at the heap of limbs. " Really, Luna? Dating a deatheater? What would your father say?" he said clucking. Absorbed in his taunting he failed to notice Harry approaching him. At a tapping on his shoulder he turned around, only for a fist to make contact with his face. Stumbling back, Red clutched his nose which was bleeding freely.

" Bloody hell, Potter!" He yelled, looking down at the livid brunette in shock. " You're not still hanging out with this lot, are you?"

Harry's eyes sparked with rage while the other Ravenclaws( and a few Gryffindors) gave the two a wide birth, Harry's protectiveness being legendary. Two Gryffindors sidled up next to the red-head and peered down at Harry in a way that was probably meant to be threatening.

"Yes, they are my _friends._ " Harry said, icily putting emphasis on friends.

Red sneered and clucked his tongue, trying (and failing miserably) to be intimidating looked down his nose. " It's not too late you know. To make some  _real_ friends."

Harry saw red. Flicking his wand out of his holster he pointed it at the red-head.

" Stop fooling around like idiots." A voice said. The voice was followed by someone lifting Harry off the ground by the back of his robes. " I calculate that this has a 98% chance of ending in a detention and a  Ravenclaw's detention is not one to be taken lightly." The boy said ignoring the three Gryffindors and walking down the hallway, still dangling Harry by his robes.

"Put me down!" Harry yelled twisting about fruitlessly. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Draco and Luna following him. Draco was smirking, although Harry could still detect the hurt in his eyes and Luna was smiling her distant smile again. The smile that both Harry and Draco hated for the way it made her seem distant, like she was in a whole 'nother world.

Once a good ways away from Red and his gang, the tall boy unceremoniously dropped Harry on the ground. 

" I don't know why you thought that attacking the buffoon was a good idea. It held a low chance of success." the boy said.

"I don't care!" Harry yelled in a rare loss of control.

"Harry, it's okay." Draco said, placing a calming hand on Harry's shoulder and gently steering him away towards their herbology class.

"Thank you, K." Luna said before following after her two friends.

 

Harry's bad mood continued throughout Herbology class. The others seemed to pick up on this and Blaise and Pansy chatted to Draco and Luna mainly about the three headed dog Red and his goons had run into when they had been wandering the halls after curfew for some wizards duel or something. They also mentioned the possibility of the dog guarding something. Harry tuned out most of it as he struggled to get his emotions in check. Not noticing the concerned glances the others were giving him.

The next period was Potions and Harry, for the first time ever, was considering skipping class. Professor Snape was very critical of student's work ethics and with the mood Harry was in he didn't trust himself to be able to successfully brew a potion. He just couldn't understand why he was so upset today.

"It's Halloween." Draco said, abruptly.

Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow. " I didn't think you'd notice. I mean the floating pumpkins didn't give it away at all." He said, his voice laced heavily with sarcasm.

Draco huffed. " Your parents died today." He stated bluntly, giving Harry a look. When Harry looked at Draco blankly he sighed. " Do you know about Samhain?" He asked impatiently.

Harry nodded. " Mrs. Figg taught me about it when I was little. I celebrate it every year." He stated woodenly.

Luna got a far away look in her eyes that usually signaled that she _Saw_ something. " Don't worry Harry." She said patting him on the arm. " The Black will return what was lost and the Cat shall soon awaken."

The boys blinked and for some odd reason the small girl's words comforted Harry. It was then that it hit him that what was really bothering him.

" I never connect to my parents on Samhain." Harry said, his gaze focused on the ground as his feet carried him to the dungeons on auto pilot.

"Oh?" Draco said looking at Harry confused. It was practically unheard of for the rituals to fail. Heck, the rituals even worked for Muggles to a certain extent.

Luna just smiled knowingly. " All is not what it seems." She said then proceeded to walk towards the potions classroom ending the discussion. Reluctantly Harry followed, although he did feel much better after hearing Luna's words and Draco's comforting grip on his arms served to further calm him down. Taking a deep breath he gave his two friends a watery grin and followed them into the classroom.

 

                                                                      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Severus Tobias Snape was a complicated man. He had been best friends with Lily Evans and, despite popular beliefs, had remained her best friend up until her death. He had not joined the Dark Lord due to some insignificant spat, but rather because he wished to be close to his love. Although a year younger Regulas Black had captured Severus's attention and a hesitant relationship had begun. Over the years the relationship had strengthened to the point that when Regulas was forced by his family to accept the Dark Mark, Severus joined him. They had gathered stores of information which Regulas would then smuggle to his brother Sirius. 

Severus had always loathed James Potter and was admittingly upset when informed about their change in relationship from one-sided pining ( James) to canoodling in Hogsmeade. He Had expressed his displeasure which is where the rumor that he and Lily had broken off their friendship originated. Neither had done anything to curb the rumors as they both realized that it was more beneficial to his position as a spy.

It was after Regulas disappeared Severus's memories were murky. He vaguely remembered hearing a prophecy, begging for the Dark Lord to spare someones life and , oddly enough, a baby's laughter.

When he had heard that Harry Potter was to begin school that year he had prepared to deal with a carbon copy of James Potter. Arrogant, self centered, no doubt sporting a swelled head from his fame and most likely pampered like a prince. Well,  _he_ was certainly not going to bow to the whims of the spoiled brat.

 

Ravenclaw. Despite his efforts to not let it mean anything a spark of hope that the boy was more Lily than Potter began to light in his heart. Intrigued, Severus found himself curious at how the boy would behave in his class and was looking forward to it just as much as he was dreading it.

 

He, Severus Tobias Snape, youngest Potion Master in the world, spy for Albus Dumbledore, was stumped. He had quizzed the boy and he had answered all the questions correctly and proceeded to create a perfect potion. But that was not what had Severus stumped. No, what had him stumped was how much Harry Potter reminded him of Regulas. Most would say that the green eyes Lily's and the wild hair was all Potters. But all Severus could see when he looked into those emerald eyes was his lover and the hair was so reminiscent of Regulas that it caused his heart to ache. The soft way the boy spoke reminded him of whispered conversations made in lover's confidence. Try as he might he couldn't bring himself to hate the boy. Heck, he couldn't bring himself to even marginally dislike him. What most confused him though was his reaction upon his discovery of just how malnourished the boy was. He had growled and had to fight the urge to wrap the boy in his arms, which surprised him as he had never been the most tactile or caring person. He filed it away for further contemplation.

He had decided to make his way to Ravenclaw Tower to see his godson as he was concerned that Draco would not be coping well. He was all too familiar with just what Lucias Malfoy's displeasure could entail. As he turned a corner he stopped abruptly. Sobbing into his knees was Draco and standing not a few paces away was the boy, looking quite at a loss. Severus's emotions warred with each other. His concern for his godson warring with his inexplicable concern for the boy. Before his concern for his godson could win the boy began to play the violin. Severus stood transfixed as the boy played, his eyes glowing with a passion that rivaled Draco's when it came to music. The music seemed to have a mind of it's own as it wrapped Severus in a comforting embrace and soothed him in away he hadn't been since Regulas disappeared.

Seeing the look of rapture on his godson's face as the music comforted him Severus realized that the best way to comfort his godson was to give him what he craved more than anything. He silently slinked back to his quarters confident that he had made the right choice.

Something was off about the boy today. He couldn't place his finger on it but the boy had seemed distant and his focus wasn't completely on his work. He pointed it out of course but the boy just shrugged it off and his godson had sent him a pleading look for him to drop it. He didn't and although they got through the class without incident, it was a close thing. He found himself pondering what could warrant this rather drastic change in behavior throughout the course of the day. It was only when during the feast that Minerva pointed out how the boy must be mourning his parents. His parents. He didn't know why but something about that seemed wrong. He mentally slapped himself. Of course he would be mourning Lily. And Potter. Can't forget Potter. Not that anyone ever mentioned their sacrifice. Nor the sacrifice of the others who laid down their life for the war. No, the fools laid all the praise on a child. He looked to his snakes and checked to make sure that they were alright. many of them had deatheater parents who would get exceptionally abusive around this time, or all the time. His eyes lingered on Zabini and Parkinson. They seemed to be having an urgent whispered discussion while glancing at the Teacher's Table. Alarm bell began to ring in his mind. Plotting Slytherins was never a good thing and usually entailed a massive headache for him.

Dragging his attention away from the two Slytherins he briefly glanced over the Gryffindor table and frowned when he noticed Miss Granger missing. His lips curled in disgust as they landed on the youngest Weasly. The boy's manners were deplorable.

He then turned his gaze on the Ravenclaws. There were the first years all chatting away happily. Flitwick had mentioned that there was a surprising lack of hostility between the first years, While some may be closer than others they weren't seperated into distinct groups like in the other houses. Even Hufflepuff had their cliques. His eyes landed on where Draco seemed to be having an animated discussion with Mr. Goldstein on religion. Just as his gaze made its way over to the boy, the doors to the Great Hall swung open and Professor Quirell came stumbling in.

" T-Troll, in the dungeons. Thought you ought to know." He said before promptly collapsing, Severus narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the supposed troll expert. There was a deafening silence broken by a scream which was followed closely by wild exclamations from the rest of the student body. Somewhere in the midst of all the chaos some one could be heard humming.

"Trolllolollol lollol lol lol lo lol."

" **Silence!** " Dumbledore boomed. Once silence prevailed (including the humming) he cleared his throat. " All prefects please lead the students to their common rooms." 

Severus kept his face impassive as he made his way to Miss Farley, the Slytherin Prefect. " Miss Farley, please escort the student to the dueling chamber and wait there for further instruction." He then proceeded to make his way to the third floor corridor. He had heard rumors that the youngest Weasly along with two Gryffindors had stumbled upon the Cerberus. How they managed to get out alive he would never know. He, along with all the other teachers, had gotten a report from Filch that arvin was camping out in front of the door. Severus shook his head. He had been one of the most vocal to demand that the boy be allowed to skip a few grades. It was obvious that Marvin was a genius and holding him back was only causing the boy to become depressed. 

Coming up to the corridor Severus arrived just in time to see Quirell enter. Casting a disillusion charm on himself Severus followed quietly. Quirell charmed a flute to begin playing a tune. The Cerberus was having none of that however and even Severus had to wince at the of key squeaking the flute was making. Sensing that this could only end badly Severus grabbed Quirell by the back of his robes and hauled the man out of the room. He winced as the incensed dog swooped its paw and its claw caught the back of his leg.

He turned to berate the stuttering Professor when he heard a blood chilling scream. His mind flashed back to Miss Granger's empty seat and immediately made his way to the source of the scream. He was joined by Minerva along the way. She was pale and muttering something about Mr. Weasly and giving him detention.

They stopped at the entrance to the girls bathroom and stared in shock. Miss Pansy Parkinson was comforting a shell shocked Granger and Mr. Blaise Zabini was busy dusting off his robes. There were a few dents in the walls and floor and a sink had burst open. The thing that surprised the teachers was the unconscious mountain troll in the corner of the bathroom.

" Student, explain yourselves!" Professor McGonagall demanded once she had gotten over her shock.

" I'm sorry Professor.." Miss Granger started but was cut off by Mr. Zabini.

" We're sorry Professor, but Hermione didn't know about the troll and we tried to tell someone but no one was listening to us so we felt that we had no choice but to go warn her ourselves." He said looking the Professor straight in the eye.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. " I was made aware of the situation by a few of her year mates who were concerned when she didn't show up to the feast. However I would not have made it in time so I will award you both 10 points each for saving the life of a fellow student and for the correct usage of spells." She turned to look at Severus expectantly. 

He sighed. " 5 points from you two for diving into a situation recklessly and 10 points for not letting house rivalries getting in the way of helping another." Satisfied he left the student to the care of Minerva and made his way to his quarters to get something for his blasted leg.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to have Ron come around, but I just can't do it. I also realized that all the canon Gryffs, besides Ron, are all buddy buddy with at least one person Ron dislikes so I've added some OCs. They shouldn't be too detailed though.  
> Also did anyone guess who K is? 10 points to your house if you can guess it. Hint: Ray.  
> I hope you guys caught the little bit of foreshadowing I put in there.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed reading this!  
> Seeya!


	10. Christmas is for Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updates. This last week has been hectic. I hope you enjoy this chapter as it was by far the most difficult to write so far.  
> I estimate that the first book should be finished within a chapter or so. I'm really looking forward to the next installment, although the third is probably going to be the most fun.  
> Can't wait!  
> Let me know what you think about this chapter. I live on constructive criticism.

After the troll fiasco, the two Slytherins could often be seen in the library with the bookish Gryfinndor ( much to the dismay of their head of house.). What they were doing was anyone's guess but after what happened to the last person to try and bully Hermione, people tended to give the trio a wide birth.

 The truth of the matter was that, since the start of the term, Pansy had developed a fascination for the third-floor corridor and had dragged a rather reluctant Blaise along with her. They had figured out quite easily what the other protections, besides Fluffy ( which was evidently its name? Seriously, who names a giant three-headed dog Fluffy?)  were and they were just left with figuring out what was being guarded. By a stroke of luck, they had overheard the Weasel going on about how someone named Nicholas Flamel was involved. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't find a scrap of information on Flamel anything. It was quite frustrating. They had tried to get the Silver Trio, as their Ravenclaw friends had been dubbed, to aid them in their search to no avail. Luna was in her own world which seemed to revolve around her two friends, Draco was stressed with his Father's continued harassment and seemed to be attached at the hip to Harry, Harry was.....well, Harry. He didn't seem to be particularly interested in the mystery of the third-floor corridor. Although, he did mention that Fluffy enjoyed music.( How he knew about that was anyone's guess.)

 The rest of the term flew by in a haze of classes, homework, and research for the students. Before they knew it the Christmas hols were upon them and the castle became alive with excitement. Charms class was filled with interesting christmas themed spells such as the one that summoned tinsel, or the one that made anyone sing carols at the top of their lungs. That had been one of Harry's favorite classes as he got to hear Luna sing. It was something that Harry hoped to experience a lot more. She had a wonderful voice. Come to think about so did a few Gryffindors. No class went untouched not even the Dungeon Bat of Hogwarts couldn't escape. The first year Ravenclaws had the misfortune of having the last potions before the Christmas holidays began. Someone....... * _cough* Weasley Twins *cough*_.....had painted all the tables in alternating shades of red and green and had charmed all the spare cauldrons to sing Christmas carols at the top of their......lungs?  Needless to say, it was one of the most terrifying experiences of their lives.

At last, the holidays were upon them, with only a few students remaining behind. Harry, Luna, and Draco were the only Ravenclaws that were remaining. There were a few others from the other houses, but none that they were familiar with. Ron Weasley had been making snide comments on how sad it was that some parents were too disappointed in their children to have them home for the hols. This was obviously directed at Luna and it had taken the collective efforts of Luna and any Ravenclaw in the vicinity to stop the two irate boys from hexing the Weasel so hard he wouldn't be able to move for a week.

Harry watched as the other boys packed their things. He had vaguely entertained the idea of going back to the Dursleys and just staying with Mrs. Figg. He had written to Mrs. Figg, asking for her opinion and they had come to the conclusion that it would be better for him to remain at Hogwarts than have to suffer the Dursleys. Draco was sitting on his bed with a far away look in his eyes. Harry hated that look as it was the one he got whenever he was thinking about his family. Rolling off his bed he carefully snuck up the blonde.

" BOO!"

"AH! Harry!" Draco cried, glaring at the smirking brunette.

" Nice one, Harry!" Terry said over the mound of books he was going through. Packing in the Ravenclaw dorms was like entering a book store. There were piles and piles of books with debates going on between all residents of Ravenclaw Tower regardless of gender or year. Everyone seemed determined to bring back an entire library, but no one seemed to have had the fore-sight to get a trunk with a built in library.  He mentioned as much to Anthony and the reaction from the normally stoic boy was priceless.

" You can do that?"

" Umm, yes?"

" How?"

Harry sifted uncomfortably under the stares of the other occupants in the room. "Umm, here." He said tossing a book to Anthony who caught it easily. " There's a charm on page 147 that should do the trick." He mumbled before retreating back to his bed.

" Thanks Harry!" Michael exclaimed as he tumbled over a pile of clothes to read over Anthony's shoulder. Terry was close behind.

Draco chuckled at the three Ravenclaws. He had heard stories from his parents and students from other houses about how it was impossible to get along with _all_ of ones' roommates. But Draco couldn't honestly sense any hostile intentions from the other boys. He wondered if it was like this in Hufflepuff. Sighing he let the exclamations and cheerful chatter wash over him and couldn't find it in him to regret not going home for the hols. He knew he was only making it worse for himself as he put of his inevitable confrontation with his father, but Luna and Harry were staying and he would be damned if he was going to give up a chance to spend a Christmas being happy for once.

 The other boys said their goodbyes as they left for the train, promising to send their gifts soon. After wishing them a Happy Christmas( and a Happy Hanukkah in Anthony's case) Harry, Draco, and Luna made their way back to the common room. With no one there, it was eerily quiet. Breaking the silence, Draco tapped a nearby table rhythmically. Harry pulled out his violin and played a few chords to the beat. Luna started to sway to the music.

_I was following, I was following, I was following,_

_I was following the pack  
_

_All swaddled in their coats_

_With scarves of red tied 'round their throats_

_To keep their little heads_

_from fallin'_   _in the snow_

_And I turned 'round and there you go_

_And, Michael, you would fall_

_And turn the white snow red as strawberries_

_In the summertime_

 So absorbed in their music, they failed to notice the arrival of their Head of House. Professor Flitwick had decided to check in on the three students staying at the school. He had been especially concerned for the young Mr. Malfoy when the boy had been sorted into his house. Not that he was worried about having a dark wizard in his nest, no, contrary to popular belief, there were quite a few dark wizards in Ravenclaw, more than the Headmaster would like to admit. He was worried for the young Malfoy because he, while never experiencing it himself, knew some of the things Lucius Malfoy was capable of when in a rage. The small Professor's sharp eyes had noted how for the first week of term the boy had grown extremely pale with the dark rings under his eyes becoming more and more pronounced. After the first week had passed, however, Mr. Malfoy had seemed to develop a fast friendship with Ms. Lovegood and Mr. Potter, yet another two to worry about, and seemed all the better for it. Flitwick was no stranger when it came to cases such as this. It was a sadly all too common occurrence in the house of knowledge. Hearing that those three had elected to stay rather than return home was no surprise to him and he hoped to use it to his advantage. Which is why he found himself intruding upon what felt like a very private moment between the trio. Although he felt that he should leave and report them, he couldn't help but feel entranced by the music. He stayed there watching the three children get lost in their music. The throes of passion obvious even to the most thick-headed of observers.  the Professor remained there for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, before slipping away. He came to a conclusion and spent the rest of his evening pondering on how to go about his plans.

Laughing, the three went up to the boy's dormitory as they saw no reason for Luna to have to be alone. Settling down on the bed they spent the rest of the day talking about their plans for the winter holiday and musical theory.

 

The trio spent the first few days of Christmas hols searching unrelentingly for a way to transfigure a piano. They wound up spending so much time in the library that the teachers noticed and ,while it didn't seem as big a concern during the school year, they were beginning to worry as no student, not even a Ravenclaw, would willingly spend so much time in the library. Which brought about the Professors, such as McGonagall, Flitwick,Sprout, Madam Poppy and even Snape, going out of their way to come up with ways to get the three studious student to stop studying. It ranged from simple mandatory meals in the Great Hall to charming snowballs to pelt the trio should they spend more than three hours at a time in the library. Madam Prince had even agreed to set up an alarm system especially for them, having grown rather found of the three and didn't wish for them to wind up like herself, while Snape would occasionally slip them a slow acting sleeping draught as he, and many others, suspected that they weren't getting enough sleep. If any at all.

At long last Christmas (Or rather Yule as the three celebrated it) was upon them. As Harry soon found out when Draco pounced on his still sleeping form.

" Wake up, Harry! Presents!" Draco cried joyfully.

" Presents?" Harry mumbled sleepily, but got up to look at the pile of packages at the end of his bed in wonder.

Draco rolled his eyes. " Yes, presents. Now hurry up, so that we can bring them down to the common room to open with Luna!" the blond said impatiently, already levitating the packages down the stairs. Chuckling, Harry got up and followed Draco down the stairs where a serene looking Luna was waiting.

" Alright, open mine first!" Draco said, handing each of his friends a small silver package. Harry smiled bashfully and opened it with curiosity. For the past three days the trio had split up to get their respective presents for each other and were brimming with anticipation for the others reactions.

Harry gasped as a silver chain slid out of the package. Attached to the chain was a small blue pendent with the rune for protection inscribed on it. Running a finger along an almost invisible seam along the edge, Draco said in a clear voice, "White Winter Hymnal." Almost immediately the sound of Luna's voice filled the room, accompanied by Harry's violin and Draco's tapping.

" It's beautiful, Draco." Harry said in awe. Closing his eyes as the music filled up the room.

Luna smiled softly looking down at her matching pendent fondly. " They really are beautiful." She said stroking one finger over hers.

Draco blushed bashfully. " Thanks, I got the idea while we were looking up music based charms in that last book. That's not the all. If you say 'Musical Musicians' while pressing down on the seam, it opens and will record the music in the immediate vicinity."

Looking at Draco in wonder, Harry and Luna opened the pendant. Once opened a little violin and moon, respectively, appeared in the center of the pendent.

Harry shook his head. " I don't have the words to express just how much I love it." Draco relaxed at hearing those words, deep down he had known that his friends would have enjoyed anything he could have gotten them but he still had been firmly convinced that a hand made gift would mean more. After all, spending galleons on gifts that didn't mean anything was what his father did and he wasn't his father.

After they had spent a little while listening to the music, Harry and Luna set their pendents down and handed their gifts to Draco.  Luna had gotten him a bracelet that had a piano inscribed along the side that when pressed played the Moonlight Sonata due to the same charm that Draco had used. Harry had gotten a similar one with a violin instead of a piano. Harry had gotten Draco and Luna notebooks to match his own. Like his, they were charmed so that only they could see what was written. He had gotten it for them to take notes for their research and music, he had already written the lyrics to the White Winter Hymnal on the first page. The three friends looked at each other and shared a smile. They may not say it, but they all felt more comfortable than they ever had with anyone else.

It was novel experience for each of them as they had all had a rather isolated childhood filled with pain both emotional and physical.

Going back to their pile of presents they began to open them. From their fellow dorm-mates the boys got an assortment of sweets and a weird box thingy from Michael (Luna got one too) witch they unanimously decided to use after they ask the mad scientist about it, from Neville they each got a crystal globe with a plant in it. Luna had small flowers of multiple colors that seemed to wave in a breeze. Luna seemed to be overjoyed with it as she exclaimed they they would help keep away the Nargles. Draco rolled his eyes before going back to examining his own. He got one with a nest of wriggling, black vines that had Prussian blue flowers in full bloom scattered over it. A note enclosed informed that it was a miniature Devil's Snare. Harry had gotten a few reed like plants with abnormally green blossoms. According to Neville they were called Varanus Trees. They were only found in the tundra and they had the incredible ability to adapt their growth so as not to outgrow their pots too fast.

Surprisingly the three had received gifts from the Weasly twins. Sure they only consisted of a few Zonko's products, but the fact that they cared enough to send not only Harry and Luna a gift but Draco as well was a bit of a surprise. It had taken a while for the hostility for Draco to be overcome. It had actually only happened because of the talk down from Harry. The twins still refused to repeat what was said.

Pansy had given Luna a hair brush that was charmed to always keep the persons hair looking stylish and had given both the boys dragonhide gloves. She had also sent a note for Draco, but after he skimmed it he seemed to push it from his mind and pocketed it without a second glance. Blaise had sent each of them a book. There was a book on obscure creatures for Luna, a book on dueling tips was for Draco, and a book on Wizarding Families for Harry. Harry gave Draco a puzzled look once he finished unwrapping the book.

" It will be useful for you to learn about the Wizarding Families since you will be taking over as lord for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter and possibly the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black too when you come of age. So knowing who's who would definitely come in handy then."

" I understand about taking over the Potter lordship, but why would I be taking the Black one as well?" Harry asked confused.

"The black one is trapped by unjust beings but will soon return." Luna from behind the book Blaise had given her. 

Draco shot her a confused look before turning back to Harry. " Ummm, well, Sirius Black had been named your godfather so as he is not capable of fulfilling the role, you would be next in line."

Harry could tell that Draco was leaving out something as the blonde had averted his eyes and was fingering the gloves from Pansy. " Draco. Where is my godfather?' He asked, unsure if he even wanted to know. He didn't think that he would ever be able to think kindly of someone who willingly abandoned him.

Draco took a deep breath before looking him in the eyes. " He's in Azkaban."

"What!" Harry yelled, shock coursing through him. " Why?"

"He was charged with the murder of thirteen muggles and.....three wizards." Draco replied, sifting uncomfortably as Harry rarely raised his voice.

" Why?" Harry repeated, the shock and anger gone leaving only a hollow ache in his chest. First his parents, now he learns that his godfather, the one who was supposed to take care of him, is a murderer. He looked at his friends beseechingly, "Why?' he whispered brokenly.

Draco cleared his throat while Luna moved closer to Harry and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. " He was allegedly a supporter of You-Know-Who."

Harry's face crumpled and he turned his head to bury his face in Luna's hair to hide the tears that were leaking out of his eyes. Awkwardly, Draco moved over wrapped his arms around Harry too. The three stayed like that for a bit, patiently waiting for Harry to calm down.

"Allegedly?" Harry rasped out.

Draco sighed. " You know how I told you that my father is former death eater?" He paused for a minute. " Well, my mother wasn't one, but my father would tell her everything and according to her Sirius Black was not a Death eater."

Harry let that sink in. He didn't understand. If he wasn't a death eater then why did he kill those people? He almost preferred believing that Black had committed murder for Voldemort, as that way he had at least had a viable reason for doing it. "Then why did he do it?"

"The worm betrayed your parents and the padded one attempted to avenge them." Luna whispered, a rare scowl graced her features. " Rats and twinkling eyes are the enemy."

The boys processed what Luna said or at least attempted to. They had learned long ago that if she said something remotely vague, it was usually important. 

"He never got a trial." Draco said abruptly. Seeing the confused look on Harry's face he clarified. " He was sent straight to Azkaban without a trial. He was accused of betraying your parents and killing Peter Pettigrew. The evidence was pretty convincing though...." Draco trailed off.

Harry shook his head. " I don't know what to think about any of this, but I do know one thing." He looked at his friends with a fire blazing in his eyes. "Yule if for family." He said firmly. Looking to each face he said with more confidence than he felt, " And you two are the closest thing I have ever had to one besides Mrs. Figgs."

Draco looked startled for a moment before taking out his wand and summoning a silver knife. Luna looked on in excitement and began to chant in a strange language. Harry looked at Draco curiously.

"I figure that we might as well make it semi-official." Draco with faux casualness and casted a cleansing charm on the knife before pricking his thumb and handing it to Harry. " This is a type of bonding charm that will alert us if the other is in danger or will let us know when one of us is needed."

Harry paused for a moment before taking the knife. He pricked his thumb then handed it to Luna who did the same, all the while keeping up her chant. Taking a deep breath the three pushed their thumbs together and words formed in their minds.

_"Family are those that take care of you._

_They do not bind you._

_They do not harm you._

_They believe in your goals and support you no matter what._

_With this blood that we now share, we willingly choose each other as our Magical Family._

_So mote it be."_

_  
_ A soft glow surrounded the three Ravenclaws and for a solid minute they remained like that. The glow caressed them, pulled at their magic, went through their memories. It was comforting at the same time as it was frighting. At that moment the three felt the presence of Lady Magic judge them and it was a feeling that they would always remember even after death.

 Once their Magic settled they looked to each other in awe.

 _" Well, this is an interesting affect."_ Luna's voice said, only instead of her normal English it came out with hisses.

Draco cringed back in shock. _"You're a parcelmouth?!"_ He exclaimed. Only to cover his mouth in shock when he realized that he had been talking in hisses as well.

Harry looked at them confusedly. _"How are both of you Parcelmouths?"_

Draco narrowed his eyes at the lack of overall panic in Harry's demeanor.

 _" You knew, didn't you?"_ He accused, although Harry could feel the lack of anger behind the accusation. Odd that. Come to think of it, it did feel like he was experiencing the event with three different sets of emotions. He shrugged.

 _" I knew that I was a parcelmouth, but I didn't realize that it would carry over."_ He said, giving his friends a clueless look.

Draco narrowed his eyes in thought. Suddenly he turned to Luna. _"The words you were chanting, they were part of a ritual weren't they?"_

Luna smiled placidly. " Yes, the ritual you performed would have allowed us to sense when one of us was in danger and their emotions, but coupled with the ritual words I had chanted we are now able to possess the inherited magical abilities and even a few lesser magical abilities of anyone that is part of our magical family." She explained in English.

The boys looked at her with wide eyes.

" So, what you're saying is....that we could see things the way you do if we wanted to?" Harry inquired. He had always been rather curious about the strange creatures she kept talking about. 

" Perhaps." Was the only answer he got.

Silence followed as they tried to wrap their heads around what they had just done. A chime sounded, making them jump a bit (Or in Luna's case, not at all) reminding them that it was a mandatory breakfast in the Great Hall this morning.

 Spelling their things to their rooms, Harry noticed a small packet with a picture of a cat on it. Knowing who it was from he carefully placed it into his pocket before following the others to breakfast.

The Great Hall was done up in all of its Christmas glory. It was spectacular, even though Harry didn't celebrate it he could still find joy in the festivities. 

Everyone was very chipper and seated at the one table as usual. The three slipped into their seats, with Harry sitting next to an older Hufflepuff who would just look around blearily and occasionally say in a somber tone; " Yellow."

Harry raised his brows in confusion and was about to inquire if the poor fellow was quite alright before an older Gryffindor cut him off.

" Don't mind him. He's always like that when he's hung over." The seventh year said with a twinkle in his eye. Professor McGonagall coughed lightly from where she was sat and attempted to give him a stern look, although the effect was quite ruined by the flower pot hat she had gained from a Christmas cracker.

The boy had the decency to look sheepish before reaching a hand over the table to introduce himself. " The name's Ford Prefect. And that over there is Arthur Dent. He's a bit grumpy right now, but he's really an alright bloke most of the time."

Harry smiled bemusedly at the two as Ford attempted to stop Arthur from accidentally giving himself food poising.

The rest of the meal was spent chatting pleasantly about nothing and enjoying the results of the Christmas crackers thoroughly. Harry didn't think that anyone would believe him that Professor Snape had wound up stuck wearing a very lacy, frilly, bonnet for two hours. NO amount of spells could get it off either. Needless to say everyone with a sense of self preservation refrained from commenting on it.

 At last lunch was over and the trio retreated back to the library. To be honest they did it more out of habit than anything else as they were confident that they had read every book on every branch of transfiguration there was to offer in Hogwarts Library. They had even managed to secure a pass to the restricted section. Though, Merlin knows how Luna pulled that off.

After a couple of hours spent comfortably going through their notes on transfiguration, including the Animagious process with they had already begun to work on, they were kicked out of the Library and told to go get some fresh air. Which is how they found themselves landed in a snowball fight with the other students. No one seemed to mind who you were so long as your aim was good. They wound up staying outside until dusk. They headed inside for dinner which was much the same as breakfast just with the lack of pink and a more alert Arthur.

As they were heading to bed Draco, Harry, and Luna noticed an extra package on their beds. Opening their respective packages, the boys let out a gasp. Harry's contained a silvery cloak that had turned his hand invisible. With a note stating that it was his fathers and that whoever had sent it to him hoped he would use it wisely.

Draco on the other hand had received a miniature piano that functioned much in the same way as Harry's violin. except that a simple tap of the wand was required to bring it to full size. As the note it came with explained. 

" I can't believe it." Draco whispered, awestruck.

Luna traipsed over and, placing the piano on the ground, tapped it with her wand. The piano grew to full size while Draco stared at it in awe. It was a grand piano of excellent craftsmanship. It was a glossy black and a raising of the lid revealed smooth ivory keys.

As if in a trance, Draco sat on a conjured chair and lovingly caressed the keys before he began to play Spring. After awhile Harry took out his violin and joined in while Luna settled for singing words in a strange language.

It was a long time before they stopped for rest.  When they finally tired, Harry and Draco put away their instruments and the three cuddled together. Exchanging brief good nights they fell into blissful sleep, unaware that the other was just as grateful for the contact to stave away their nightmares as they were.

Should Professor Flitwick have been aware of their sleeping arrangements, he gave no sign.

 After all, Yule is for family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so on a scale of one to ten ( One being: Oh, your family was really that bad? I had no idea. And ten being: I just killed everyone I deemed as a threat to my plans and I will force Potter to bend to my will.) How evil should Dumbledore be?  
> My sis thinks it should be a solid six, but I'm curious about what you all think.   
> Be sure to leave your replies in the comments below!  
> Hugs and Kisses.  
> Leave a kudo if you liked my story.


	11. The Seriously Sly ( And Smart!) Trio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, I thought I'd attempt to delve into the other trio as you've probably realized that they are the ones who will figure out the Philosophers Stone and save Hermione. They are also going to tie into the main trio to become a happy, close-knit group of six. I hope you enjoy. (Or more a close knit group of nine, eleven, thirteen? It's pretty big group come to think about it.)

Hermione Granger had always been a bit of a loner. While other kids enjoyed playing outside and all the screaming that accompanied it, she preferred to find a nice quiet spot to read and study. But despite her studious and quiet nature she rather longed for a friend. The other kids didn't find math and science quite as fascinating as she did and either pretended that she didn't exist or bullied her. She hadn't minded at first as she had her Grandpa. 

Grandpa Granger was a nice quiet old man who possessed a rather large library. It was he who had taken to teaching Hermione how to read and about things that were a bit more advanced than kids her age normally learned, but he had caught her reading about them anyway.  He had even taken the time to teach her the guitar. It was a tradition for the Granger family, one that her father hadn't been interested in. She had taken to the guitar with a passion. By the time her Grandpa passed away when she was nine, she was quite the prodigy. She still preferred her books and studies, but found playing the guitar to be soothing. When he passed on, he had left the old house, library, journals, all things music, and such to her. It had caused a bit of a rift in her parents relationship, but she was too sad at the loss of her only friend and the one person she really considered her family to care. When the stern lady told her and her parents about magic and the boarding school she would be going to, she had been overjoyed. She had no friends, her parents were barely speaking to one another, and the school she was going to didn't challenge her as much as wanted. At last, here was her new start.

 Or so she thought. Yet, here she was, crying in the girls bathroom, after overhearing what Ron was saying about her. She had really thought that she could fit in here. Make some friends and be normal. But it was just the same as her last school. Even the subjects were easy and the teachers were strict too. Professor Snape had made her cry five times now and she didn't understand why. In between her sniffles she heard the door open and the sounds of heavy footsteps resonated in the small bathroom. She froze in fear, her mind running through the possibilities of who, or what, it could be. A swish followed by a crash sounded and before she knew it, she was face to face with a troll. Too scared to scream or move she watched in horror and morbid fascination as the troll lifted its club to deal a killing blow.

"Protego!" A voice shouted, accompanied by the figure of a fellow female blocking the way. They were surrounded by a pearly white bubble, " A shield charm." Hermione thought absently.

" Ad quod factum est lapis, de quo egressus es!" A firm voice called.

The troll froze, its face contorting it let out a ear bursting bellow before turning into stone.

 "Are you alright?" The girl in front of Hermione said. At least, that's what she thought she said as her ears were still ringing from the troll's bellow.

Hermione blinked and opened her mouth to thank her savior.

"You're smart. I mean that was a fourth year level spell, even I haven't read that far ahead. Even if I had I wouldn't have been able to perform it.."

Great, real smooth. Hermione was aware that she was babbling, but give her a break. She was almost crushed by a troll! She hadn't been able to say much more before she blacked out. The last thing she had seen was the smiling face of Pansy Parkinson.

 

 Blaise watched as Pansy settled in the bed next to the Gryffindor muggleborn and sighed. Pansy had heard about the alteration between Ron Weasley and the frizzy haired bookworm and, once the troll was announced, had immediately sent Blaise to the nearest teacher to report it. He had only gone because it had never occurred to him that Pansy would go after the wayward lion on her own. He sighed and prepared for whatever excuse his friend was going to give him.

" What were you thinking? You could have died!" Blaise shouted, albeit softly so as not to wake the sleeping bookworm.

Pansy looked at him with a lost look on her face. "  _She_ could have died. And as for what I was thinking, all I could think of was that she shouldn't be alone." She finished in barely more then a whisper.

Blaise pressed his lips together, remembering a much younger Pansy crying in her family's library after she had been locked in there for days. She had been distraught and had since been nigh inseparable from him and Draco. And she had definitely developed a fear of being alone.  Shaking his head he sat down next to her.

"Alright. As long as you know what you're doing. But I still want you to at least let me know before you run off. That way I wouldn't panic when you are nowhere to be found." He stated firmly.     

Pansy puffed up indignantly. "I didn't just go wandering off! I sent you to get a teacher so that we didn't wind up dead. I may have jumped in front of a troll, but that doesn't mean that I'm about to barge headlong into danger, without a plan, like a dunderhead Gryffindor."

Blaise held up his hands placidly. " Okay, okay. I will never doubt your Slytherin esqueness  again."

"I'm not a dunderhead." A muffled voice said from the bed next to them.

Looking over they saw a bushy head of hair peeking out from the covers.

"Not in the slightest." Pansy agreed. "Don't listen to anything the weasel says. He's just jealous that you have a brain whereas he doesn't."

Hermione giggled. " He is rather hopeless isn't he."

Blaise smirked. " Yes, how the Weasley twins managed to escape the mental disease that comes from that family I'll never know."

Hermione frowned. " I don't know. Percy seems okay."

Pansy snorted. " Please, he's more stuffed up then Lucius Malfoy. And _that's_ saying something."

Hermione shrugged. " I'll take your word for it."

A comfortable silence came over the three. During which they 'subtly' studied each other.

"Why are you always alone?" Pansy asked, bluntly.

Blaise groaned and face-palmed. Seriously, where did his Slytherin Pansy go and where did this brash Gryffindor come from.

Hermione frowned and stared at her blanket. " I suppose it's because I'm too smart for people. I never did understand how everyone would get so caught up in trivial things like sports." She picked at the edge of the blanket. The threads didn't budge. They must be charmed not to, how fascinating. She dragged her mind back to the two people staring at her. Sighing, she figured she might as well tell them everything as they were the first people she has ever talked to about herself.

" While other children preferred sports, I would sit inside or under a tree with a book. I found out the hard way that reading books didn't make one a lot of friends." She said, sadly. Talking about it made her feel the loneliness and loss of her Grandpa more sharply.

"Well, you're not alone now." Pansy said with a note of finality.

 Hermione gaped at her. " But you're Slytherins. Slytherins hate Gryffindors."

Blaise rolled his eyes, having expected something like this. "  _We_ don't hate Gryffindors. We hate blood traitors and muggleborns who ban the magical traditions and the Olde Magic. Not to mention making the lives of the majority of magical creatures hell. As long as you aren't like that then we'll get along fine." he explained. He honestly wouldn't mind her company and it had bothered him, not to the extent that it had bothered Pansy though, how she was always alone and was shunned by the other more popular kids.

Hermione blinked at them. "Oh. What are they doing to the magical creatures? And what are the banned magical traditions? What are Olde Magics? Is it anything like the magic we're learning now? And how come you know about them if their banned and why are they banned? Are they dangerous?" The bookworm questioned, not even stopping to breathe.

Blaise blinked, overwhelmed with the sudden barrage of questions. Pansy just grinned before launching into explanations about the old traditions and promised their lion that she would teach her how to hold herself to gain more respect.

 Before long Madam Pomfery arrived and shooed Blaise out. He left with good grace and a promise to get some help in getting revenge on the Weasel. Much to the confusion of Madam Pomfery who half considered keeping him overnight after giving him a head scan.

 Once Blaise was gone she gave each of the girls a Dreamless Sleep Potion. After they said their goodnights they slipped into a pleasant sleep.

 

The next day found the three sitting in the library looking up all sorts of things. Most particularly things about famous wizards and their accomplishments. Occasionally they could be found in the company of the Silver Trio as well. It was always an interesting experience to observe them when they were together. Luna would random things that had both the other girls stumped and searching for explanations. The boys would wind up talking about homework, quidditch, and other inconsequential things in an attempt to keep their private projects secret as they didn't think it would be accepted by the other. A mutual subject that often came up was the Animagius Procedure. Long story short, they decided to attempt it. Since then they would meet up every now and again to do homework, work on their animagius project, and 'discreetly' work on their 'secret' projects. Truthfully, Blaise was quite aware of the Silver Trio's plight, just as Draco was aware of theirs. Occasionally they were joined by the Explosive Trio or the Twins. All in all, they became one of the most intriguing groups in school that had the Professors fearing for their sanity should they all make a combined effort on a prank.

 

It was on one such day that the Trio of Stupidity ( consisting of Ronald Weasley, Mick Wormwood, and Sally Postern) decided to confront the Mini-Death Eaters.

"Hey! Evil alert! Looks like we got an infestation of Death Eaters." the Weasel said, jeering at the collective group of students from all houses. Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot had decided to join the study group as the other girls in their house weren't too interesting.

Pansy paled slightly along with Draco, Neville, and Susan. Fred and George glared at their younger brother.

"Oi, have some respect. A lot of people lost their families to Death Eaters." Fred said, calmly. Seeing the serious looks on their faces was unnerving to anyone with half a brain cell.

"Wow, I never thought that my own brothers would betray me." Ronald said, looking at them in mock astonishment. " But then, you never really behaved like a proper Weasley anyway." the Red-head said, giving a poor attempt at a sneer.

The twins began to get up, their faces slowly turning purple with rage. When ,suddenly, they were sitting down gritting their teeth.

"OI! Ignoring me isn't going to change the fact that Mum's going to kill you!" The idiotic red head shouted to the loud laughter of his lackeys.

"No Shouting in my library!" Came the familiar screech of Madam Pince. Grabbing the red head by the ear she dragged him out of the library, announcing a two month long ban on library access on the way.

Silence returned to the library. The group looked at each other with dark expressions.

"It's almost Christmas hols." Draco said casually.

"Indeed. The three of us are planning on remaining here." Harry continued.

"An opportunity shall arise for revenge." Luna stated dreamily.

The others at the table took in her dreamy demeanor and shuddered. Harry would catch you in a trap, Draco would get you in trouble with authority, but Luna......no one has ever been targeted by her and somehow she seemed to be far more intimidating than either of her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, thank you for confirming how evil Dumbledore should be. I wanted to add him into the story earlier, but I wasn't sure how I should portray him.  
> I have another question though.  
> As I hinted in the last chapter and in this one too I think, the following students are going to attempt to find their Animagius form. I already have Harry's, but I would like some input on the others.  
> Luna  
> Draco  
> Pansy  
> Fred and George  
> Blaise  
> Hermione  
> Dean  
> (Neville   
> Michal I'm not too sure about these three as Michael and Seamus strike me as the type to be too preoccupied with exploding things. Neville I think, just lacks the confidence right now. Anyhoot, if I get a good suggestion for any of them I will use it. So please, shower me with your brilliant ideas!  
> Seamus)


	12. The Prank

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY!! I havn'e updated in soo long and the chapter is only,like, 3k! My life just got soo hectic recently. Now that my life has gotten what seems to be at least a rudimentary schedule, I hope to be back to posting regular updates soon.  
> THIS FIC HAS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE ABANDONED!!  
> Italics mean that the conversations are taking place in the mind link.

Two days before the end of winter hols, Harry got a surprise summons from the Headmaster.  
"I don't like the thought of you going to see him alone." Draco said. The trio was once again in the library, this time looking up interesting charms that had lasting effects.  
" I know, but what can I do? I can't exactly bring you both when he only asked for me." Harry said from behind a thick tome on spider related spells.  
" The man of cheer shall accompany you." Luna's voice came from the behind the stacks of books on magical creatures.  
" Well, I don't know about 'man of cheer', but you needn't fear, young Mr. Potter. The Headmaster is not allowed to summon a student without an important reason. If he can supply no reason, the Head of House is required to be present."  
The three grinned at the small professor. He was a cheery man who had taken to joining them in the library on occasion. He had been quite the help with their charms work.  
"Thank you, Professor!" Harry said, feeling a lot lighter. He honestly had been trying his hardest to avoid the Headmaster. He just couldn't bring himself to be anything but pissed off in the 'benevolent' presence of the 'esteemed' headmaster as he was the person who left him to rot at the Dursleys. Draco and Luna were aware of how Harry disliked the Headmaster, but not why.  
"Anytime, Mr. Potter." Flitwick said giving Harry a smile. Truthfully Flitwick had been getting concerned with how much unnecessary attention Dumbledore had been giving anything remotely related to Harry and he wasn't the only one. The Heads of House had gathered together with a few of the other teachers to discuss it and came up with a pact to never leave Harry alone with the man until the Headmaster came up with a sound reason for his interest.  
"I believe we should go and get it over with." The small Professor said. He waited for Harry to get his things together, albeit reluctantly, before heading off to the Headmaster's office.  
They walked mostly in silence before arriving at a gargoyle statue. Before giving the password Flitwick turned to Harry and said in a low voice. "Mr. Potter, if you feel uncomfortable at any time let me know and we shall leave faster than a snidget in a Quidditch match." Giving him a reassuring wink, he turned back to the statue, which leaped to the side once the password was given.

 " Ahh, Harry my boy. And Professor Flitwick? I must admit I'm curious as to why you are here. Is this about your class seating arrangements?" The Headmaster said from where he was sitting.

"No, Headmaster. You have summoned Mr. Potter to your office and as school policy requests, I am here to accompany him." Flitwick said with false cheer.

The Headmaster's eyes dimmed a bit. " Ah, I see. Well, why don't you have a seat? Lemon drops?" He offered, motioning to the bowl of sweets on his desk.

Harry sighed and retreated into his mind palace. Professor Flitwick could handle the old geezer.

**Time Change**

Hermione had spent the train ride back home ensconced with her friends. She still found it hard to believe that in just a few short months she had gone from no friends to being barely able to have any time for herself. She of course had no idea that everyone was still worried about her well being from the troll incident and have only become more protective after it was discovered that she often didn’t sleep for days on end when she found a subject that interested her. Pansy in particular took great delight in knocking her out and making sure she ate regular meals.

The train ride home was considerably more downhearted than the ride to Hogwarts had been. Most of the children weren’t really looking forward to going home as it would mean all manners of unpleasantness. Hermione in particular wasn’t looking forward to what was bound to be a tense couple of weeks filled with her parents thinly veiled attempts at getting her to give up her inheritance from her Grandfather. 

Pansy wasn’t looking forward to her parent’s idea of how a lady in training should spend her holidays. Lots of time locked in the library, diets, dancing, extra lessons, and learning how to detect lies,poisons, and foul intent. Not exactly at the top of the list for best way to spend winter Hols.

For Neville it was much the same as Pansy, just with the addition of nearly daily visits to his parents with a repeat lecture of how he should be more like his father. Neville didn’t see why his Grandmother though that the sight of both his parents drooling and soiling themselves would encourage him to follow in their footsteps. Sometimes he thought his Grandmother was more insane than his Mother.

Blaise was rather looking forward to seeing his Mother and getting time in playing his harp. Perhaps he could convince his Mother to help him smuggle it into Hogwarts. He was, however, worried about his Mother’s new paramour. It sounded like she was very happy with him which usually meant that heartbreak was sure to follow.

The twins weren’t looking forward to the endless dance of avoiding their Mother, not getting bored, and entertaining their little sister Ginny. Well, entertaining Ginny was fun and helped ease their boredom, but getting yelled at by their mother wasn't exactly the most inviting of prospects. 

The others picked up on the rather pensive mood and did their best to lighten the atmosphere with jokes and unnecessarily complicated games of Exploding Snap. They continued to pass the time in such a manner until they pulled into the station.

Saying goodbye to her friends, with many promises to write, Hermione stepped through the barrier fully expecting to find her ever-prompt parents waiting her. Her parents were never late and as such Hermione was extremely surprised to find that her parents weren’t anywhere to be seen. Bewildered, Hermione found herself a rather sheltered bench and began to pass the time by reading ' Olde Rites Vol.II',  a gift from Pansy. Taking out her notebook and pen (no one was quite sure how she always had one, never empty no matter what) _One of the greatest mysteries of the universe._ and began taking extensive notes, getting completely immersed in a world she now suddenly found herself a part of.

" Ma'am? It's 12'00. Do you need me to call anyone?" the man from the ticket booth inquired, jolting Hermione from a particularly fascinating (albeit illegal) ritual. Looking up at the big station clock Hermione realized that it was indeed midnight and her parents still haven't arrived.

"It's quite alright." Hermione assured the ticket booth man, " I just sat down to read and lost track of the time. I was supposed to take a taxi home....I've never hailed one down before....Would you mind terribly helping me find one?" She asked putting on her best puppy dog eyes. The man smiled reassuringly and, taking her by the hand, helped her hail a taxi to take her to her parent's house.

 The ride was nearly three hours, which gave her enough time to go from confused to pissed off to worried. She squirmed uneasily remembering her final words to her parents and the burst of magic that followed soon after. She had assumed that the accidental magic squad would have taken care of it, but what if they didn't? What if she had somehow accidentally cursed her parents and they died or caused them to become fatally ill? These unpleasant thoughts ran around her head and kept her company for the entirety of the journey.

  The taxi pulled to a stop by the curb in front of her parent's house. It was a nice suburban house with white walls, a black roof, and perfect cookie cutter windows. Hermione got out of the taxi nervously. The windows were dark and were suspiciously void of the yellow curtains that have hung there for years. The lawn, usually kept immaculately tidy was overgrown and the grave drive way showed no sign of anyone driving a car over it for ages. 

 Feeling very worried, Hermione nervously asked the taxi driver if he could wait for her as she went to check if her parents were home. Cautiously, Hermione knocked on the front door. No answer. She rang the doorbell. No answer. Trying the door handle, Hermione found it to be locked. Desperately, she fished around in the small potted plant by the door for the spare key. Luck struck her her searching fingers brushed against the piece of metal. Grabbing the key, Hermione hastily let herself into the house. Once inside, her heart dropped into her stomach. There was absolutely no sign of anyone having lived here within the past months..no...years. Beginning to panic Hermione frantically tore around the house, desperately searching for some sign of life. Some clue as to what happened. Entering her parents room she noticed a slim book poking out from under the bed. She grabbed gratefully and read the title. It was her Mother's journal. Her hands shaking with trepidation she opened the book up to the entry for September first.

 The house was quiet, eerily so, the only sound was the turning of crisp pages and small gasps escaping the young witch overcome with emotion. Her parents had left her. Her final words to them had given them a choice, fight to stay with her or go off to some far away place and forget about their daughter. They didn't even hesitate. According to the last entry they have moved to Australia. Her trembling hands the only thing betraying her anguish, Hermione numbly left the house and asked the taxi to take her to her Grandfather's. She must have worked some magic because the taxi driver didn't say a word and left her on the edge of her Grandfather's property without question or payment.

 Picking up her trunk, with her thanks to Harry's feather-light charm echoing in the back of her mind, she began the long trek to her Grandfather's house in a rather trance-like state. It was her first time returning here since her Grandfather's death and, had she been returning under less upsetting circumstances, she probably would have noticed for the first time all the magical plants and animals in the widespread forest that surrounded the property. Or perhaps the herd of Hippogryphs that were resting in a field near the small lake at the foot of the hill Granger Manor stood on. Or perhaps.....really there were a lot of magical things that would have noticed if she was not, currently, in shock. As it was, the thing that snapped her out of her trance was the high pitched squeak;

"Mistress Granger is home!"

 Jolting out of her trance, Hermione looked around at her surroundings. She was in the entrance hall, having let herself in without even remembering doing so. Looking down at the origin of the welcome her eyes widened in surprise. There, on the rich crimson carpet, was a small, grey creature with bat like ears and tennis ball sized eyes.

Hermione was cold, tired, a bit wet from the light snow fall, and had just received a rather big shock. So one could not really blame her for promptly passing out, much to the distress of the elf. In her unconscious state, she did not feel the pressure of Mother Magic judging her as Luna activated an ancient ritual from many miles and days away. The house-elf, Mipsy, did and wisely waited until the ritual was over before moving the unconscious heiress to her room and tucking her into bed.

 

 Now, while not as dramatic as Hermione's experience, it should be known that the others were not having that much fun either.

Pansy, upon coming home, was immediately locked into the portrait gallery to be yelled at by her countless ancestors for her questionable choices this past school year. Having been through this before, Pansy knew that she would have pretend to pay close attention to every single word they said or they would tattle to her parents and she would be in even more trouble. Hours passed until the portraits ran out of things to say. Only then was she allowed to go straight to her room with stern instructions to go straight to sleep. Exhausted, Pansy quickly changed into her nightgown and plopped into bed. Falling asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, Pansy also missed Mother Magic's touch.

Neville had been shunted up into his rooms to entertain himself as he saw fit until his Grandmother wished for his presence. That only happened when she wanted to talk about his Father or lecture him on how to be more like his Father. It had been happening less and less since he got his letter, until she only called for him when they went to see his parents. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. On the one hand, he no longer had to hear her endless comparisons between him and his father but, on the other hand, he now had no one to talk to whatsoever. Sure, there were the house-elves, but they do not make for good conversationalist.

Laying on his bed dejectedly, Neville looked about his room. There were knick-knacks, odds and ends, a couple of books on Quidditch, a broom servicing kit......Neville sighed. For as long as he could remember, anything he owned came from his father. He had slept and played in his father's old nursery, any presents were the exact same ones given to his father, he was moved up into his father's old bedroom, complete with the old furnishings which he was forbidden to change. But the worst thing of it all, was that here he was not Neville. He was Frank. His birthday was not July 30th. It was August 28th. The same as his father. Looking about his room, at the objects which have long lost all meaning or value to him but to serve as a reminder that he was not supposed to be his own person, his gaze landed on his school trunk. An idea struck. There were plenty of hidden gardens that his Grandmother, sorry,  _Mother_ , either doesn't know about or were simply forgotten. Perhaps with some help, he could ward them against his G-Mother.  His gaze landed on his hand me down wand and grit his teeth. Before doing anything, he _was going_ to get a new wand. No matter what his crazy  _Grandmother_ said.

**TIME CHANGE**

Harry waited in a hidden alcove above the Great Hall with a devious grin on his face. " _He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands._ " The solemn voice of Justin rumbled through his head. Harry choked back a laugh at the sudden recital of one of Sir Tennyson's poems. It was a pretty accurate description of what he was doing, excepting the sun, lonely lands, and crooked hands. Harry had very nice hands thank you very much. Ah hah! There, in the back, was his target. Ron Weasley slowly made his way towards the Great Hall along with the other students all returning from their vacations. Harry waited patiently as Luna placed the charm on him while Draco slipped the _special_ cauldron cake into the glutton's robe pocket. Once that was done, Harry carefully placed a big spider that they had found near the  Forbidden Forest on the little ledge outside of his hiding place. Stifling his giggles, Harry quickly excited the hidden alcove and made his way to the Ravenclaw table where Draco and Luna were already waiting for him.

 As the students filed in, fresh from their winter vacation, the trio grinned at the familiar faces of their friends. Suddenly, Ron Weasley ran into the Great Hall screaming as if the hounds of Hell were after him. ( They weren't really, they were actually quite busy babysitting someone we'll get to eventually) Professor McGonagall stopped him at once. 

" Mr. Weasley, what in good heavens do you think you're doing?" She questioned him with her mouth set in a stern line.

"T..there's a b b b giant spider after me!" The redhead blubbered, pointing a shaky finger where, sure enough, was the giant spider (No bigger than a basketball, mind you) which had decided sometime during the chase that the jug of pumpkin juice was evil and needed to be destroyed.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow. She readied her wand. The spider seemed to sense his impending doom, because no sooner than a blink of an eye, the spider was out the door with Mrs. Norris hot on its heels.

The rather bemused professor turned to the quivering redhead, and despite being rather amused, her gaze was coolness impersonified.

" Now that the problem has been taken care of, I trust that there shall not be anymore unwarranted screaming."

Ron opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when her gaze hardened. He quickly lowered his eyes and nodded his head.

"Good. I trust that you know the way to your seat?" She continued, slightly softening her gaze. (He did after all have a fear of spiders) Ron nodded again and quickly made his way to his seat in between the two dweebs that seemed to follow him around like big, brutish, ugly, puppies. After a couple of massive servings of food, the Weasel seemed to quickly regain his composure and went back to his usual mealtime past-time, jeering at Hermione. Something none of her friends took lightly, especially after the Winter Hols she had had. The twins, being nearest, had the enormous pleasure of being able to shove Draco's _special_ Pumpkin Pattie into his mouth. Ron glared at the twins, but settled for smiling smugly at them while he continued his meal as Percy began giving them a stern lecture.

 All was peaceful. At least, as peaceful as a meal with hundreds of young witches and wizards could get, when suddenly, Ron began screaming again. Professor McGonagall jumped out of her seat and rushed over to the hysterical red-head, this time with Madam Pomfrey on her heels.

 "What is the matter this time, Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked calmly.

"THERE'S SPIDERS IN MY STOMACH!!" Ron bellowed, frantically clawing at his stomach. Madam Pomfrey quickly ran a diagnostic charm on him and hummed at the results.

" There's nothing wrong with you as far as I can tell, but perhaps you had better come to the Hospital Wing just to be on the safe side." She suggested, already resigning herself to a long evening with the whiny red-head. Ron stared at her in horror.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOTHING'S WRONG!! THERE ARE SPIDERS CRAWLING IN MY STOMACH!!" He shouted, beginning to frantically unbutton his shirt. Professor McGonagall, having no desire to have to deal with a _naked_ hysterical red-head, quickly cast a sleep charm on him. Once he was peacefully asleep, Madam Pomfrey leaned over and whispered in her ear. Despite her best efforts at keeping her voice low, the twins were able to just barely make out what was being said.

" Must've had too much to eat, I'll take him to the hospital wing and contact his parents about a diet."

 The poor twins had a hard time keeping their faces straight as Madam Pomfrey carefully floated their vile younger brother out of the Great Hall.

"Just a simple upset stomach." Professor McGonagall assured everyone. She then quickly made her way back to the High Table to finish her dinner and perhaps drink something a bit stronger than butterbeer to help firm her resolve before having to deal with Molly Weasley's reaction to the news that her youngest son was in need of a diet.

 The Great Hall quickly filled with noise and those that were in on the prank finally were able to let out their laughter.

 _" Does he really have spiders in his stomach?"_ Fred's voice inquired within the link.

 _" Regrettably, he does not."_ Draco answered. _"It does however feel remarkably similar to the real thing."_ He continued with a smirk.

 _"What about the thing you did, Lu?"_ George asked, still giggling madly.

 _" What one fears will haunt the shadows for a fortnight and a golden moon."_ Luna replied dreamily.

The mind link quieted.

  _"So which is it? A fortnight or until the next full moon?_ " Hermione asked.

 From where they were seated the Silver Trio shrugged.

 _"We're not really sure. It could be a fortnight or the next full moon. All in all it should definitely keep him off our backs for a while."_ Harry said.

 _"Perhaps all of us who share the mind link should meet up somewhere and talk."_ Justin suggested.

 _"Good idea, random person who's voice I don't recognize."_ Pansy agreed.

 _" Justin Finch-Fletchley? From Hufflepuff?"_ Justin prompted.

 _"Yeah, nope."_ George said apologetically.

 _"Sorry."_ Fred added.

 _"Don't worry, Justin. That just means you can introduce yourself in some dramatic way when we meet up."_ Harry said, comforting the upset Hufflepuff.

 _"How about the Third Floor Corridor?"_ Draco suggested, hesitantly. Harry shot a nervous glance at him.

 _"You mean the Third Floor Corridor that is forbidden to students?"_ The twins chorused gleefully.

 _"What if we get caught?! We'll get expelled!"_ Hermione protested shrilly.

 _"Relax, Granger. We've been going there pretty much every night since we got here."_ Draco placated. he sent a cautiously confident nod to assure Harry of his resolve.

 _"Yeah, we found a secret passage that leads to a big classroom in there."_ Harry explained. Harry thought Draco was being a bit weird, but then, weren't all humans? He seems to have gone from viciously guarding his secret to being willing to share it with a bunch of people he only met this year. People are so strange.

 _"But...surely the Headmaster put protections in place."_ Hermione continued weakly.

 _"Nope."_ Harry said.

 _"But.."_ Hermione cast about for a more valid reason to continue her protest.

 _"Oh hush, Hermione."_ Pansy huffed, before addressing Harry. _" Hey, Golden Boy. Can I bring Blaise?"_

 _"Golden Boy?"_ Harry repeated incredulously while Draco immediately replied in the affirmative.

 _" Wait, does that mean I can bring Seamus and Dean?"_ Neville asked.

 _" Well, we already have four Gryffindors might as well have the set."_ Draco assented while Harry could still be heard muttering Golden Boy incredulously.

 _"Hang on! What about me?"_ Ginny protested. _"I'm not at Hogwarts yet."_

 **** _"Don't worry sis."_ the twins comforted. _" We'll think of something."_

 __Hermione could be heard listing off the possible possibilities which the twins excitedly joined in.

 _"Alright then,"_ Draco yelled.  _" we'll meet up in front of the One Legged Suit of Armor that's on the way to Charms at midnight tonight." Draco declared._

Sounds of assent came from everyone as they were assured out of the Great Hall.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first off, I love Justin! Mainly Maya's Justin. Second the next chapter will have more explanations about what happened with Hermione and Neville. Thirdly, my sister is pissed off that I haven't updated in so long and that while I haven't updated I have still been making bamf oc's and little funny stories with it......that didn't make much sense I know but bear with me. I have begun teaching english at the tender age of 17. Ergo I am very stressed. Please leave kudos and comments and the next chapter should be up soon.


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